They read the second book
by world peace
Summary: Sirius,Remus,James,and Lily find the second Harry Potter book.JamesLily.No slash.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note:First of all this is my very first story,so please bear with me while I write my story,I warn you it is not the best.But if you will kindly review and point out any mistakes I have made or ways to improve my writing it would be very much a appreciated.Also I know alot of pepole have done stories like this but they are my favorite type of fanfics.So I thought it would be fun to try to write my own.

Disclaimer:I don't own it and if you think I do then you need help.

Prolog:The book of the future.

"What is this place,James?"asked a bewildered Lily Evans.

"It's called the room of requirerments."James supplied."Cool huh?"

"Very."She answered.

Remus and Sirius watched Lily with an amused look at her reaction to the room of requierments.

Lily walked over to one of the four armchairs that the room had produced and sat down.Looking around she saw a bookshelf with a single book on laying on one of its shelves.

Getting up she went over to the shelf to inspect the the book futher.When she pulled the book out to look at the title,she gasped.

"What is it?"James asked."James,"she said, "do you have a relative named,Harry Potter?"

"Not that I know of,why?"

"Because the name of this book is called Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets."

"Really,"James asked.He walked over to look at the book with Sirius and Remus right behind him.They looked at the book over Lily's shoulder.

"Are you sure he's not your realtion,Prongs?"Sirius asked."He does look like you."

"Can I see it a minute,Lily?"Remus asked her.She handed him the book.He took it staring at the cover a minute before opening the book.His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open."What is it,Moony?"James asked his freind."This is just too weird,"Remus muttered."What's too weird?" Siruis asked getting a little impatient."This book was published in ????!"Remus answered."What!" The others exclaimed.

"Wait a minute,"James said Snatching the book out of Remus's hands,"if this was published in ????,maybe the book tells about the future."Maybe this book is about a future relitive of mine,or maybe even my son!"

"Cool!"Sirius exclaimed."Lets read it and find out."Remus raised his eyebrows at him."What?Sirius asked noticing the strange look."It's just that I never thought I'd live to see the day when Sirius Black would say a book sounds cool."

"Well this is different,"Sirius defended himself,"This is a book about the future.''

"Yeah.Moony,"James said,"Lets she whats going on in the future."

"I don't know,"Remus statred."Oh,come on Moony,what harm could it do?"Alright,Remus said."What do you think,Lily?"James asked his girlfriend."I think it might be fun."Lily said."Then lets get started!"Sirius exlamied and he went over to one of the armchairs and sat down,waiting for the others to join him.The others followed suite and sat down in arm chairs too.Lily sitting in James's lap."Who should read first?"James asked."I will,"offered Remus."Chapter one..."

Once again please revie

w and any mistakes you point out or any tips you can give would of course be appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Well don't ask me how but I manged to type this entire chapter in one day.I hope you enjoy it.And also want to thank my reviewers.

**Mcgowang:**Thanks for my very first reveiw!

**Streaming Radiant Fire:**Thanks for all the great advice!

It really helped!

And now on with the story.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own it.

**Chapter 1 The Worst Birthday**

**Not for the first time,an argument had broken out over brekfast at number four,Privet Drive.Mr.Vernon Dusley **

"Wait a minute,Remus." Lily interupted. "But did you say_ Vernon Dursley_?"

"Yes,why?"

"Because thats the name of my sisters fiance'."

"Really?" James asked."I wounder what he's doing in the book."

"Keep going Remus," lily said.

**had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud,hooting noise from his nephew Harry's room. "Third time this week!" he roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl,it'll have to go!'' Harry tried,yet again,to explain. "She's **_**bored**_**," he said. "She's used to flying around outside.If I could just let her out at night ---" **

"Why can't he?" Jame asked.

"Let me read and maybe you'll find out." Remus said.

**"Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon,a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy mustache. **

"From that description I'd have to say,yes,you look very stupid." Sirius said.

**"I know what'll happen if that owl's let out." He exchanged dark looks with his wife,Petunia.**

"Petunia!!??'' Lily screeched.

"Ow! easy on the ears lily," Sirius said rubbing both of his ears.

"But thats the name of sister!

"Really?" Remus asked a little shocked.

"Yes!"

"Then how about we keep reading and find out why your sister and her fiance' are in a book." James said.

''Good Idea,James," Remus agreed.

"Its the only kind I have." he replied smirking.

"Just let me read."

**Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a long,loud belch from the Dursleys' son,Duldley. "I want more bacon."**

"Charming," Sirius muttered.

"I can't beleive they had a kid." Lily said shaking her head.

**"There's more in the frying pan,sweetums," said Aunt Petunia,turning misty eyes on her massive son. "We must build you up while we've got the chance...I don't like the sound of that school food..."**

**''Nonesense,Petunia,I never went hungry when **_**I **_**went to Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough,don't you,son?" Dudley,who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair,grinned and turned to Harry. "Pass the frying pan." **

"Get it yourself.James said.

**"You've forgooten the magic word," said Harry irritably.The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredalbe:Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen;Mrs.Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth;Mr.Dursley jumped to his feet,veins throbbing in his temples.**

"What did say?'' Sirius asked.

**"I meant **__**please**____

**"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU,'' thundered his uncle,spraying spit over the table **

Gross!

**"ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?''**

"He doesn't mean 'magic' does he?" asked James increduasly.

"He must," Remus answered equally confused.

**"But I ----"**

**''HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon,pounding the table with his fist.**

**"I just ---- ''**

**"I WARNED YOU!I WILL NOT TOLERATR MENTION OF ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!" **

**Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his plae aunt,who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet."All right,'' said Harry, ''**_**all right**_** ..."**

**Unccle Vernon sat back down,breathing like a winded rhinoceros **

"And probably looking like one too." muttered Sirius.

**and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small,sharp eyes.Ever sonce Harry had come home for the summer holidays,Uncle Vernon had been treating him like a time bomb that might go off at any moment,because Harry Potter **_**wasn't **_**a normal boy.As a matter of fact,he was not normal as it is possible to be.Harry Potter was a wizard **

"But that is normal," Sirius protested.

"Not to muggles," Remus explained.

"Oh."

**-- a wizard fresh from his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have him back for the holidays,it was nothing to how he felt.**

"After what we've read so far, I can imagine." Remus sympathized.

**He misssed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache.He missed the castle,eith its secret passageways and ghosts,his classes (though perhaps not Snape,the potions master),**

"Snape a teacher?! What is the world coming to?" Sirius asked shaking his head.

**the mail arriving by owl,eating banquets in the Great Hall,sleeping in his four-poster bed in the tower dormitory,visting the gamekeeper,Hagrid,in his cabin next to the forbidden forest on the grounds,and,especially Quidditch,the most popular sport in the wizarding world**

"Definatly James's son," Lily,Remus,and Sirius said at the same time.James just shot them all mock glares.

**(six tall goal posts,four flying balls,and fourteen players on broomsticks).All Harry's spellbooks,his wand,robes,cauldron,and top-of-the line Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick had been locked in a cuboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry had come home.What did the Dursleys care if Harry lost his place on the House Quidditch team because he hadn't practiced all summer?**

"Hang on," James interuppted, "Harry said he just finshed his first year."

"So"? Sirius asked.

"So.How would he get kicked of the Qudditch team,first years aren't allowd." James answered.

"Good,point." Remus said. "Do you think they changed the rules?"

"I doubt it." Sirius replied.

"Then,I wounder how he's on the team?" James mused.

"Maybe if youlet me keep reading we'll find out."Remus said.

"Good point,Moony.Go ahead."

**What was it to the Dursleys if Harry went back to school without any of his homework done?The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins),and as far as they were concerned,having a wizard in the family was a matter of depest shame.Uncle Vernon had even padlocked Harry's owl,Hedwig,inside her cage,to stop her from carrying messages to anyone in the wizarding world.Harry looked nothing like the rest of his family.Unlce Vernon was large and neckless,with an enormous black mustaacge;Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony;**

"Thats my sister!" Lily exclaimed.

Are you sure Lily," asked James.

"Positive it sounds just like her." Lily paused for a minute,then said. "If thats my sister then that means..." She looked over at James,who looked confused for a minute but then realised what she meant.His eyes widened,his mouth dropped open,and he stared at his future wife for a seconds before a smile started to slowly creep across his face. "We're married in the future". he wispered finshing her sentence.She nodded.

"YES!!!" James cried.He picked Lily up and spun her aorund the room.

"James! James put me down!" Sirius and Remus were trying to hold back their laughter.James stopped spinning her and set her back on her feet. "Sorry", he apologized.He sat back down pulling her into his lap again. ''Keep reading Remus."

"hatever you say Prongs." Remus replied still trying very hard to hold back his laughter.

**Dudley was blond,pink,and porky.Harry,on the other hand,was small and skinny,with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy.**

"Poor kidd," muttered a hand through his own unruley hair.Lily giggled."I think its cute," she said running her own hand through his hair.Sirius and Remus exchanged an amused glance knowing that less than a year ago when James would run his hand through his hair,Lily would roll her eyes and tell to stop being an arogant jerk.

**He wore round glasses,and on his forehead was a thin,lighting-shaped scar.**

"I wounder how he got that," Sirius mused.

**It was this scar that made Harry so particulary unusual,even for a wizard.This scar was the only hint of Harry's mysterious past,of the reason he had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.At the age of one year old,Harry had somehow survived a curse from the greatest dark socerer of all time,Lord Voldermort,whose name most witches and wizards feared to speak.**

"But how?",Lily asked sounding slightly tearful.

"And why would Voldemort want to curse Harry?" James asked.

"I don't know maybe if we keep reading we'll find out." Remus suggested.

**Harry's parrents had died in Voldemorts attack,**

Everyone froze.Remus looked up at the otheris with an expression of horror on his face. "You...you die?",Sirius asked.

"I guess so," James answered,before wrapping his arms around Lily,who had started to cry on his shoulder,and let a few of his own tears slide down his face.

"But...'' Sirius started._He couldn't beleive his best freind was going to die.How could this happen?_

"We won't let it happen," Remus wispered. "What?" James asked,looking up. "We won't let it happen," Remus said a little louder. "We'll stop it.We'll finsh the book and find out what happens then we can stop it from happening.We can stop you from dying.

"But Remus,that would mean changing the future and awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time." Lily said trying to hold back more tears. "I know.But this book was sent to us for a reason and maybe that reason was to change the future." Remus stated.

"I agree with Moony." Sirius said. "I don't want to loes you guys."

"Lets finsh the book and then we'll decide how to change things." Remus said.James and Lily nodded.

**but Harry had escaped with a lightnig scar,and somehow --- nobody understood why --- Voldemort's powers hd been destoryed the instant he failed to kill Harry.**

"Wow," James wishpered.

**So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother's sister and her husband.He had spent ten years with the Dursleys,never understanding why he gept making odd things happen without meaning to,believing the Dursleys' story that he had got his scar in the car crash that had killed his parents.**

What?! the four freinds screamed.

"She never even told him that he was a wizard!" Remus said increduasly.

"Or how we died!" James exclaimed.

"Like you guys would die in a car crash," Sirius added.

"that does it!," Lily said.Petunia is sooo going to get it when I get home.

**And then,exactly a year ago,Hogwarts had written to Harry and the whole story had come out.Harry had taken up hos place at wizard school,where he and his scar were famous...but now the school year was over,and he was back with the Dursleys for the summer,back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly.The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday.Of course his hopes hadn't been high;they'd never given him a real present,let alone a cake ---- but to ignore it complerely...**

"Sirius,'' Lily interupted, ''can I ask you a favor?

"What is it?" he asked hesitantly not liking the look on her face.

"Can you make me a list of pranks to get Petunia with?''

Sirius looked at her a little shocked at first but then he smiled. "Of course,Mrs Prongs." he said ginving her a salute.

"Thank you,Sirius.Please continue reading,Remus."

Remus shook his head but continued reading.

**At that moment,Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, "Now,as we know,today is a very important day.**

"What?Are they really talking about Harry's birthday?" Sirius asked.

"Probably not." Remus answered.

**"Harry looked up hardly daring to beleive it. "This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my carrer," said Uncle Vernon.**

"Figures," Lily muttered.

**Harry went back to his toast.**_**Of course,**_**he thought bitterly,**_**Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party.**_**He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks.Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's compony made drills). "I think we should run through the schedule one more time," said Uncle Vernon. "We should all be in poistion at eight o' clock.Petunia,you will be ----?**

**"In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home." "Good,good.And Dudley?"**

**"I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley put on a foul,simpering smile. "May I take your coats,Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"**

**"They'll **_**love **_**him! cried Aunt Petunia rapturously. **

"I doubt that," Sirius said.

**"Excellent,Dudley," said Uncle Vernon.Then he rounded on Harry. "And **_**you**_**?" "I'll be in my bedroom,making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry tonelessly. "Exactly," said Uncle Vernon nastily.**

"Unbelievable!" James exclaimed. "They could at least treat him like a human being!

**''I will lead them into the lounge,introduce you,Petunia,and pour them drinks.At eight-fifteen ---"**

**"I'll announce dinner," said Aunt Petunia. "And Dudley,you'll say ----"**

**"May I take you through to the dining room,Mrs.Mason?" said Dudley,offering his fat arm to an invisible woman. "My perfect little gentlemen!" sniffed Aunt Petunia. "And **_**you**_**? said Uncle Vernon viciously to Harry. "I'll be in my room,making no noise and pretending I'm not there," said Harry dully. "Precisely.Now,we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner.Petunia,any ideas?" "Vernon tells me you're a **_**wounderful**_** golfer Mr.Mason...Do tell me where you got that dress,Mrs.Mason..." "Perfect...Dudley?'' "How about ---- 'We had to write an essay about our hero at school,Mr.Mason,and **_**I **_**wrote about **_**you**_**.' " **

The four friends couldn't help but laugh. "Thats so pathetic." Sirius said in between laughs.

**This was too much for both Aunt Petunia and Harry.Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son,while Harry ducked under the table so they wouldn't see him laughing. "And you,boy?" **

**Harry fought to keep his face straight as he emerged. "I'll be in my room,making no noise and pretending I'm not there,'' he said. ''Too right,you will,'' said Uncle Vernon forcefully, "The Masons don't know anything about you and it's going to stay that way.When dinner's over,you take Mrs.Mason back to the lounge for coffee,Petunia,and I'll bring the subject around to drills..With any luck,I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten.**

"Wonderful," James muttered.

**We'll be shopping fo a vacation home in Majorca tomarrow." Harry couldn't feel too excited abou this.He didn't think the Dursleys would like him any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive. ''Right --- I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me.And **_**you**_**," he snarled at Harry. "You stay out of your Aunt's way while she's cleaning." Harry left through the back door.It was brilliant,sunny day.He crossed the lawn,slumped down on the garden bench,and sang under his breath: "Happy Bithday to me...happy birthday...'' No cards,no presents,and he would be spending the evening pretending not to exist.**

The three Mauraders frelt miserable for Harry and were wishing there was something they could do to make him feel even a little bit better.And Lily was trying very hard to hold back the tears that were threating to escape.

**He gazed miserably into the hedge.He had never felt do lonley.More than anything else at Hogwarts,more even than playing Qudditich,Harry missed his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.They.however,didn't seem to be missing him at all.Neither of them had written to him all summer,even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry to come and times,Harry had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending her to Ron and Hermione with a letter,**

"No,Harry don't do that!" cried Lily. "You'll be expeled!"

"Um,Lily you know that he can't hear you,right? James asked.

"Of course I do." she said blushing a little.

**but it wasn't worth the risk.Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside os school.Harry hadn't told the Dursleys this:he knew it was only their terror that he might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking **_**him**_** in the cuboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick.**

"If they lock him in there I will find away to come back from the dead and haunt them if I have to," James said forcibly.

**For the first couple of weeks back,Harry had enjoyed muttering non-sense words under his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him.But the long silence from Ron and Hermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical wrold that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal --- and now Ron and Hermione had forgotten his birthday.**

"I wonder why his freinds aren't writing to him.Do you think they really forgot him?" Sirius asked.

"I doubt it,"James said frowning. "Maybe the letters got lost.

**What wouldn't he give now for a message from Hogwarts.From any witch or Wizard?He'd almost be glad of a sight of his arch-enemy,Draco Malfoy?**

"Malfoy? You don't think could that he could be related to that idiot,Lucious Malfoy,Do you? James asked.

"Most likely he is," Remus answered.

**Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun.**

"Why not?," Sirius asked." I always have lots of fun at Hogwarts.Except when we get caught by Filtch.Or when we have detention.Or when we're getting a lecture from MaGonagall." Lily rolled her eyes. "Remus please keep reading before he comes up with more reasons."

**At the very end of las term,Harry come face-to face with Voldemort himself.Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self,but he was still terrifying,still cunning,still determined to regain power.Harry had slipped through Voldemorts clutches for a second time,but it had been a narrow escape,and even now,weeks later,Harry kept waking in the night,drenched in cold sweat,woundering where Voldemort was now,remembering his livid face,hise wide,**

**mad eyes -----**

"Oh,poor Harry!," Lily cried.

**Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench.He had been staring absent-midedly into the hedge --- **_**and the hedge was staring back.**_

"Huh?" Sirius said.

"How can a bush be staring back at you?" asked James.

"Um,James I think someone is hiding in the bush watching Harry." said Remus. "Oh'',James said sheepishly.Lily giggles,causing James to send her a mock glare.She just grinned innocently and ruffled his hair before turning back towards Remus who had started reading again.

**Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.Harry jumped to his feet just a jeering voice floated across the lawn. "I know what day it is,'' said Dudley waddling toward him.**

"So what?'' James asked.

"Thats probably quite an acomplishment for Dudley though," Sirius pointed out.

"True," James agreed.

**The huge eyes blinked and vanished. **

**"What?" said Harry,not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been. "I know what day it is," Dudley right up to him. "Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of the week."**

Remus had to stop reading so that he,like the others could laugh.

"That was a good one.' choked out James.

**"Today's your **_**birthday**_**,'' sneered Dudley. ''How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you got freinds at that freak place?" **

"Of course he has freinds and its not a freak school!" Yelled Lily.

**"Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school." said Harry coolly.Dudley hitched up his trousers,which were slipping down his fat bottom. **

**"Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously. "I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Harry.Dudley stumbled backward at once,a look of panic on his fat face. "You c-can't -- Dad told you're not to do m-magic -- he said he'll chuck you out of the house --- and you haven't got any-where else to go --- you haven't got any **_**freinds **_**to take oyu ---" **_**"Jiggery pokery!"**_** said Harry in a fierce voice. **_**"Hocus pocus --- squiggly wiggly ---"**_

**"MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley,tripping ove his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! He's doing you know what!" **

"Dudley is so stupid!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I have to agree with Sirius on this one," Remus said. "Who would beleive that nonsense is magic?"

"Apparently Dudley," James remarked.

"And Petunia,"Lily added. " I used to do that when she started to get on my nerves.

**Harry paid dearly for his moment of fun.As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt,Aunt Petunia knew he hadn't really done magic,but he still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at his head with a soapy frying pan.**

"She what?!!" Lily screeched. ''Just wait till get I home,Petunia,you won't know what hit you!

**Then she gave him work to do,with the promise he would't eat again until he'd finshed.While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream,Harry cleaned the windows,washed th car,mowed the lawn,trimmed the flowerbeds,pruned and watered the roses,and repainted the garden bench.**

James had started muttering something that sounded like slave labour.Lily on the other hand was muttering death threats to her sister.

**The sun blazed overhead,burning the back of his neck.Harry knew he shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait,but Dudley had said the very thing Harry had been thinking himself...maybe he **_**didn't **_** have any friends at Hogwarts...**

_**Wish they could see the famous Harry Potter now,**_**he thought savagley as he spread manure on the flower bedshis back aching,sweat running down his face.It was half past seven in the evening when at last,exhausted,he heard Aunt Petunia calling him. **

"Lily I _really_ hate your sister." James said through clenched teeth.

"Me too,James." said Lily clearly just as angry.

**"Get in here!And walk on the newspaper!" **

**Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen.On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding:a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets.A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven. "Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon! snapped Aunt Petunia,pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table.**

"She's practiclly starving him," James yelled.He looked over at Lily and was surprized to see her looking quite calm. "Sirius,'' she said calmly.

"Yes?'' he said hesitantly. "Whatever you're putting on that list make sure that it includes blue and orange hair with spikes."

"Yes Ma'am,'' he said saluting her again.

**She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress.Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper.The moment he had finshed,Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate. "Upstairs! Hurry!" **

**As he passed the door to the living room,Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jackets.He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door-bell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs. **

"He didn't even do any thing." Lily exclaimed.

**"Remember boy --- one sound---"**

**Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe,slipped inside,closed the door,and turned to collapse on his bed.The trouble was,there was already someone sitting on it.**

"Why'd you stop reading?" Sirius asked.

"Because it the end of the chapter." Remus answered.

"Oh."

"Alright,who wants to read next?" asked Remus.

"I will." Sirius offered.

Remus raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth.

"I know I know,'' Sirius interupted, "You never thought you'd live to see the day when Sirius Black would offer to read a book.You lived.You saw.Now give me the book."

Remus smiled and tossed the book to Sirius who opened the book to chapter two and started to read.

Man,that was alot to type!Please review and tell me what you think.Any mistakes or tips are always appreciated.It'll probably be a day or two before I update again.It took me all day to type this chapter so I need a break.But I hope you like the chapter:)


	3. Chapter 3

I am soooo sorry I didn't update for so long.I got busy with school,and Chistmas beging so close.But anyway heres the third chapter.I tried to add alot of comments but it was kinda difficult.What with all the stuff that happened to Harry this chapter.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own it.

**Lily-PotterKOOL,Streaming Raidant Fire,Mcgowang:**Thanks for the reveiws!

And now on with the Story!

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**Dobby's warning**

**Harry managed not to shout out,but it was a close thing.The little creature on his bed had,large bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls.Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning.As they stared at each other,Harry heard Dudley's voice from the hall. "May I take your coats,Mr.and Mrs.Mason?"**

**The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long,thin nose touched the carpet.Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase,with rips for arm- and leg-holes. "Er -- hello," said Harry nervously. **

**"Harry Potter!'' said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you,sir...Such an honor it is..." "Th-thank you,'' said Harry,edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair,next to Hedwig,who was asleep in her large cage.He wanted to ask, ''What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude,so insteasd he said, "Who are you?" **

"He's so polite,'' Lily exclaimed.Sirius rolled his eyes.And James looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Well he is,he must take after me."

James nodded before realasing what she said,he looked back over at her.But she just gave him an inocent smile. ''Keep reading,Sirius."

**"Dobby,sir.Just Dobby.Dobby the house-elf,'' said the creature. **

**"Oh --- really?" said Harry. "Er --- I don't want to be rude or anything,but --- this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom." Aunt Petunia's high,false laugh sounded from the living room.The elf hung his head. "Not that I'm not pleased to meet you,'' said Harry quickly, "but,er,is there any particular reason you're here?" "Oh,yes,sir,'' said Dobby earnestly. **

**"Dobby has come to tell you,sir...it is diffcult,sir...Dobby wonders where to begin..." "Sit down," said Harry politely,pointing at the bed.To his horror,the elf burst into tears --- very noisy tears.**

"Oh,great," muttered Remus.

**"S**_**-sit down!**_**" he wailed. "**_**Never...never ever**_**..."**

**Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter. "I'm sorry," he wispered. "I didn't mean to offend you ir anything ---"**

**"Offend Dobby!" chocked the elf. "Dobby has **_**never**_** been asked to sit down by a wizard --- like an **_**equal**_** --- ''**

**Harry,trying to say ''Shh!'' and look comferting at the same time,ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing,looking like a large and very ugly doll.At least he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration. "You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry,trying to cheer him up.Dobby shook his head.Then,without warning,he lept up and started banging his head furiously on the windows,shouting, "**_**Bad**_** Dobby! **_**Bad**_** Dobby!" "Don't --- what are you doing?" Harry hissed,springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed ---- Hedwig had woken up with a particulary loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.**

"And things just seem to get better and better,'' James said under his breath.

**"Dobby had to punish himself,sir,'' said the elf,who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family,sir..."**

**"Your family?" "The wizard family Dobby serves,sir...Dobby is a house-elf ---- bound to serve one house and one family forever..." "Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously.Dobby shudered. "Oh,no,sir,no...Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you,sir.Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this.If they ever knew,sir ---'' "But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?" "Dobby doubts it,sir.They lets Dobby get on with it,sir.Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments..." **

"Thats awful," Lily exclaimed. "How could any one be that cruel?"

**"But why don't you leave?Escape?"**

**"A house-elf must be set free,sir.And the family will never set Dobby free...Dobby will serve the family utill he dies,sir..."**

**Harry stared. ''And I thoght I had it bad staying here for another few weeks," he said. "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human.**

"Almost,'' Sirius added.

**Can't anyone help you?Can't I?" Almost at once,Harry wished he hadn't spoken.Dobby disolved again into wails of gratitude. "Please,'' Harry wispered franticlly, "Please be quiet.If the Dursleys hear anything,if they know you're **

**here ----" "Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby...Dobby has heard of your greatness,sir,but of your goodness,Dobby never knew..."**

**Harry,who was feeling distnctly hot in the face,said, "Whatever you've heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish.**

"It is not," Said James forcefully.

**I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts;that's Hermione,she ---- '' But he stopped quickly,because thinking about Hermione was painful. "Harry potter is humble and modest,'' said Dobby reverently,his orb-like eyes aglow. ''Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over he-who-must-not-be named ---" "Voldemort?" said Harry. Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned. "Ah,speak not the name,sir! Speak not the name!'' "Sorry," said Harry quickly. "I know lots of pepole don't like it.My friend Ron ---" He stopped again.Thinking about Ron was painful too.Dobby leaned toward Harry,his eyes wide as headlights. "Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, ''that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord a second time,just weeks ago...that Harry Potter escaped **_**yet again**_**.'' Harry nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears. "Ah,sir," he gasped,dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold!**

"Just like his dad," said James smirking.

"James," Lily said.

"Yeah."

"Shut up."

**He has braved so many dangers already!But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter,to warn him,even if he **_**does**_** have to shut his ears in the oven door later...**_**Harry Potter must not to back to Hogwarts.**_**"**

"What?!" the group exclaimed.

"Is he mental," Sirius asked.

"He must be,'' said Remus. "Because he dosen't really expcet Harry to stay there at the Dursleys does he?"

**There was a scilence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon's voice. "W-what?" Harry stamered. "But I've got to go back ---- term starts on September first.It's all that keeps me going.You don't know what it's like here.I don't **_**belong**_** here.I belong in your world ---- at Hogwarts." **

"Exactly," said James nodding his approval.

**"No,no,no," squeaked Dobby,shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter must stay where he is safe.He is too great,too good,to loes.If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts,he will be in mortal danger."**

**"Why?" said Harry in surprize. "There is a plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy this year," wispered Dobby,suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months,sir!" **

**"What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's ploting them?" Dobby made a funny chocking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall. "All right!'' cried Harry,grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell me.I understand.But why are you telling **_**me?**_** A sudden,unpleasnt thought struck him. "Hang on --- this hasn't got anything to do with Vol ---- sorry ---- with You-Know-Who,has it? You could just shake or nod," he added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.Slowly,Dobby shook his head. "Not ---- not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,sir ---"**

**But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint.Harry,however,was completley lost.**

"Oh,how pathetic!" Lily screamed. "Why can't he just tell Harry?!"

**"He hasn't got a brother,has he?" Dobby shook his head,his eyes wider than ever. "Well then,I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts,'' said Harry. "I mean,there's Dumbldore,for one thing --- you know who Dumbldore is don't you?" Dobby bowed his head. "Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had.Dobby knows it,sir.Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strenght.But,sir" --- Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent wisper --- "there are powers Dumbledore doesn't...powers no decent wizard..." And before Harry could stop him,Dobby bounded off the bed,seized Harr's desk lmap,and started beating himself around the head with earsplitting yelps.**

"Stupid house-elf," muttered James.

**A sudden scilence fell downstairs.Two seconds later Harry,heart thudding madly,heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall,calling, "Dudley must have left his televsion on again,the littel tyke!" "Quick! In the closet!" hissed Harry,stuffing Dobby in,shutting th door,and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned. "What --- the --- **_**devil **_**--- are --- you --- doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth,his face horribly close to Harry's. "You'vejust ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke...**

"Oh,big disapointment I'm sure," muttered Sirius.

**One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born,boy!" **

**He stomped flat-footed from the room.Shaking ,Harry let Dobby out of the closet.**

**"See what it's like here?" he said. "See why I've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place I've got --- well,I **_**think **_**I've got freinds." "Freinds who don't even **_**write **_**to Harry Potter?" said Dobby slyly. **

"Wait a minute," said Remus holding up his hands. "How does he know that?"

"You don't think he has something to do with the letters,do you?" James asked.

"Its possible."

"If he does he'll be sorry," Lily said.

**"I expect they've just been ---- wait a minute,'' said Harry frowning. "How do **_**you**_** know my freinds haven't been writing to me?" Dobby shuffled his feet.**

**"Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby.Dobby did it for the best ----" "**_**Have you been stopping my letters?"**_

"Your sons pretty quick,James." Sirius said.

James smiled proudly.

**"Dobby has them here,sir, said the elf.Stepping nimbly out of Harry's reach,he pulled a thick was of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing.Harry could make out Hermione's neat writing,Ron's untidy scrawl,and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper,Hagird.**

"Hey it looks like Hagrids still there," exclaimed Remus.

**Dobby blinked anxiously up at Harry. **

**"Harry Potter mustn't be angry...Dobby hoped...if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him...Harry Potter might not want ot go back to school,sir..." Harry wasn't listening.He made a grab for the letter,but Dobby jumped out of reach.**

**"Harry Potter will have them,sir,if he gives Dobby his word that he will nit return to Hogwarts.Ah,sir,this is danger you must not face! Say you won't go back,sir!" "No," said Harry angrily. ''Give me my friends' letters!'' "Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice,'' said the elf sadly.Before Harry could move,Dobby had darted to the bedroom door,pulled it open,and sprinted down the stairs.Mouth dry,stomach lurching,Harry sprang after him,trying not to make a sound.He jumped the last six steps,landing catlike on the hall carpet,looking around for Dobby.From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying, **

**"...tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers,Mr.Mason.She's been dying to hear..."**

**Harry ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt his stomach disappear.Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding ,the mountain of cream and sugered violets,was floating up near the ceiling.On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.**

**''No,'' croaked Harry. ''Please...they'll kill me...'' "Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school ----"**

**''Dobby...please..." "Say it,sir ----" "I can't --- " Dobby gave him a tragic look. "Then Dobby must do it,sir,for Harry Potters own good." The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash.**

"Harrys not having a very good night is he?" Sirius asked winching.

"You're just now notiching this?" James replied.

**Cream splattered the windows and walls ans the dish shattered.With a crack like a whip,Dobby vanished.There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Venon burst into the kitchen to find Harry,rigid,with shock,covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunia's pudding.At first,it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. ("Just our nephew ---- very disturbed ---- meeting strangers upsets him,ao we kept him upstairs...'') **

"He is not Disturbed," James said indignantly. "If anyones disturbed its you,Dursleys.

**He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room,promised Harry ne would flay him to within an ince of his life when the Masons had left,and handed him a mop.Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the frezzer and Harry,still shaking,started scrubbing the kitchen clean.Uncle Vernon might have been able to make his deal ---- if hadn't been for the owl.**

"Oh no,'' muttered Lily.

**Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window,dropped a letter in Mrs.Mason's head,and swooped out again.Mrs.Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics.Mr.Maosn stayed long enough to tell the Dursley's that hiis wife was mortally afriad of birds of all shapes and sizes,and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.Harry stood in the kitchen,clutching the mop for support,as Uncle Vernon advanced on him,a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.**

**"Read it!" he hissed evilly,brandisshing the letter the owl had delivered. "Go on --- read it!"**

"Leave him alone,Dursley!" Yelled James.

**Harry took it.It did not contain birthday greetings.**

**Dear Mr.Potter**

**We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was**

**Used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes **

**past nine.As you know,underage wizards are not permitted**

**to preform spells outside school,and futher spellwork on your **

**part may lead to expulsion from said school **

**(Decree for the resonable Restiction of Underage Sorcery,**

**1875,Paragraph C).**

"Oh what a load of rubbish," Lily said huffily.

**We would also ask you to remember that any magical **

**activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical**

**community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section**

**13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks'**

**Statute of Secrecy.**

**Enjoy your holidays!**

"Oh,well thats nice of them," exclaimed Remus.

**Yours sincerely.**

**Mafalda Hopkirk**

**Mafalda Hopkirk**

**Improper use of Magic Office **

**MInistry of Magic**

**Harry looked up from the letter and gulped. "You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school,'' said Uncle Vernon,a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. "Forgot to mention it...Slipped your mind,I daresay..." **

**He was bearing down on Harry like a great bulldog,all his teeth bared. "Well,I've got news for you,boy...I'm locking you up...You're never going back to that school...never...and if you try and magic yourself out ---- they'll expel you!" **

"What!?" screamed Jaemes. "Unbeleivable! There imprisoning him!"

**And laughing like a maniac,he dragged Harry back upstairs.Uncle Vernon was as bad as his word.The following morning,he paid a man to fit bars on Harry's window.He himself fitted a cat-flap in the bedroom door,so that small amounts of food,could be pushed inside three times a day.**

"Thats it!" Lily screamed and she got up and made for the door.

"Um,Lily where are you going?" asked James with a staring at her with a shocked expression. "I'm going to murder my sister and her fiance'!"

"Lily,wait!" said James getting up and going after her. "You cant muder them.''

Why not?" she said turning around to face him.

"Because that stuff hasn't even happened yet."

"I don't care!"

"Well," James started trying to find a reason to make her stay, ''at least wait untill we finsh the book then you can kill them.I'll help."

She thought for a moment before agreeing.James led her back over to the chair, "Go ahead Sirius."

**They let Harry out to use the bedroom morning and evening.Otherwise,he was locked in his room around the clock.Three days later,the Dursleys were showing no signs of relenting and Harry couldn't see any way out of his situation.He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on his window and wondered miserably what was going to heppen to him.What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it?Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low.Now that the Dursleys knew thy weren't going to wake up as fruit bats,he had lost his only weapon.Dobby may have saved Harry from horrible hapenings at Hogwarts ,but the way things were going,he'd probably starve to death anyway.The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunia's hand appeared,pushing a bowl of canned soup into the room.Harry,whose inside were aching with hunger,jumped off the bed and seized it.The soup was stone-cold,but he drank half of it in one gulp.Then he crossed the room to Hedwig's cage and tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowl into her empty food tray.She ryffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust. **

"Its not his fault," Sirius said.

**"its no good turning your beak up at it ---- thats alll we got," said Harry grimly.He put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed,somehow even hungrier than he had been before the soup.Supposing he was still alive in another four weeks,what would happen if he didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why he hadn't come?Would they be able to make the Dursleys let him go?The room was growing dark.Exhausted,stomach rumbling,mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions,Harry fell into an uneasy sleep.He dreamed that he was on show in a zoo,with a card reading **

**Underage Wizard ****attached to his cage.Pepole goggled through the bars at him as he lay,starving and weak,on a bed of a straw.He saw Dobby's face in the crowd and shouted out,asking for help,but Dobby called back, ''Harry Potter is safe there,sir!" and vanished.Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage laughing at him.**

**"Stop it," Harry muttered as the rattling pounded in his sore head. "Leave me alone...cut it out...I'm trying to sleep"**

"Its okay sweetheart,its just a dream,'' Lily cooed as though Harry were there in the room with them.James looked at her for a moment with raised eyebrows,he opened his mouth to comment but thought better of it and jsut shook his head.

**He opened his eyes.Moonlight was shining through the bars on the window.And someone **_**was**_** goggling through the bars at him:a freckle-faced,red-haired,long-nosed someone.Ron Weasley was outside Harry's window.**

"It must be Harrys freind,the one he metioned earlier." Remus Said happily.

"Good,maybe he'll get Harry out of there," said Lily relef evident on her face.

"Not that I'm not happy,but how did he get there? Unless maybe he flew." James said.

"Well,we'll probably find out if we keep reading," Sirius said, ''So who wants to read next?"

"I will," offered James. "Chapter three..."

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Wasn't the greatest but I'll try to do better next time.And I know how frustrarting it can be to start reading a story and then the writer doesn't review for a long time,and I will try to keep that from happening.But this next chapter with take longer.Because its first of all a longer chapter,and Christmas is getting really close and theres alot of stuf to do,plus I'm helping my church with stuff.But I promise I won't leave the story hanging for a long time,its just getting really busy here.And after Christmas is done things will quiet down,But I promise to update as soon as possible.And once again I'm sorry about the updates taking so long.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry I haven't updated in so long.I've been really busy lately with Christmas so close.Anyway I want to thank my reviewers__** Streaming Radiant Fire,mcgowang,lily-potterKOOL,Inner Cameron.**_

_Merry Christmas everyone! Or as my favorite song says Feliz Navidad!_

_Anyway on with the story._

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**The Burrow**

**"Ron!" breathed Harry,creeping to the window and pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron,how did you --- What the ----?" Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hit him.Ron was leaning out of the back of an old turquoise car,which was parked **_**in midair**_**.Grinning at Harry from the front seats were Fred and Geroge, Ron's elder twin brothers. "All right,Harry?" asked Geroge. "What's been going on?" said Ron ''Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times,and then Dad came home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles ---" It wans't me --- and how did he know?" "He works for the ministry," said Ron. "You **_**know **_**we're not supposed to do spells outside school ----" "You shouold talk," said Harry,staring at the floating car. "Oh,this doesn't count,'' said Ron. "We're only borrowing this.It's Dad's,**_**we **_**didn't enchant it.But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with ---"**

**"I told you,I didn't ---- but it'll take too long to explain now ---- look,can you can tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back,and obviously I can't magic myself out,because the Minstry'll think that's the second spell I've done in three days,so ----" "Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us." **

"Yes!" James exclaimed triuphantly.

"Looks like Harry has really good freinds," commented Remus.

James nodded in agreement.

**"But you can't magic me out either -----" "We don't need to,'' said Ron,jerking his head toward the front seat and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me." "Tie that around the bars,'' said Fred,throwing the end of a rope to Harry. "If the Dursleys wake up I'm dead," said Harry as he tied the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car. "Don't worry,'' said Fred, "and stand back."**

**Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig,who seemed to have relized how important this was and kept still and silent.The car revved louder louder and louder and sudenly,with a crunching noise,the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air.Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground.Panting,Ron hoisted them up into the car.Harry listened anxiously,but there was no sound from the Durlsys bedroom.When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron,Fred reversed as close as possible to Harry's window.**

**"Get in,'' Ron said. "But all my Hogwarts stuff --- my wand --- my broomstick ---" "Where is it?" "Locked in the cupboared under the stairs,and I can't get out of this room ---" "No problem," said George from the front seat. "Out of the way,Harry."**

**Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry's room.You had to hand it to them,thought Harry,as George took an ordinary hairoin from his pocket and started to pick the lock. "A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time,knowing this sort of Muggles trick," said Fred, ''but we feel they're skills worth learning,even if they are a bit slow." **

"He has a point,maybe we should learn them.Might come in handy for some of our pranks," Sirius said.

**There was a click and the door swung open. "So --- we'll get your trunck ---- you grab anything you need from your room and hand it to Ron," wispered George. "Watch out for the bottom stair --- it creaks," Harry wispered back as the twins dissappered onto the dark landing.Harry dashed around the room,collecting his things and passing them out the window to Ron.Then he went to help Fred and George heave his trunk up the stairs.Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough.**

"Please don't wake up.Please don't wake up.Please don't..."

"Padfoor,what are you doing," Remus asked.

"They say if you wish for something hard enough it'll come true.Plaese don't wake up.Please don't wake...

Instead of replying Remus just looked up to the sky as if asking God to give him stength

**At last,panting,they reached the landing,then carried the trunk through Harry's room to the opne window.Fred climbed back into the car to pull with Ron and Harry and George pushed from the bedroom side.Inch by inch,the trunk slid through the window.Uncle Vernon coughed again. "A bit more," panted Fred,who was pulling from inside the car. "One good push ---" Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car. "Okay ,lets go," Geogre wispered.But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind him,followed immediatley by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice. "THAT RUDDY OWL!" **

"Oh no," Lily whispered.

"If they hurry they might maight make it before the Dursley's get there." Remus reasoned.

"I hope you're right."

**"I've forgotten Hedwig!'' Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on --- he snatched up Hedwig's cage,dashed to the window,and passed it out to Ron.He was scambling back onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door --- and it crashed open.For a split second,Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry,grabbing him by the ankle.**

"Hey,let go,Dursley! Leave him alone for once!" James yelled.

**Ron,Fred,and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could. "Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" But the Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slipped out of Uncle Vernon's grasp --- Harry was in the car --- he'd slammed the door shut --- "Put your foot down,Fred!" yelled Ron,and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.Harry couldn't beleive it --- he was free.He rolled down the window,the night air wipping his hair,and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon,Aunt Petunia,and Dudley were all hanging,dumbstruck,out of Harry's window. "See you next summer!" Harry yelled.**

All three of the Mauraders laughed,and even Lily couldn't help but giggle.

**The Weasleys roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat,grinning from ear to ear. ''Let Hedwig out," he told Ron. "She can fly behind us.She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages." George handed the hairpin to Ron and,a moment later,Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost. "So --- what's the story Harry?" said Ron impaitently. "What's been happening?" Harry told them all about Dobby,the warning he'd given Harry and the fiasco of the violet pudding.There was a long,shocked scilence when he finshed. "Very fishy," said Fred finally. "Definitley dodgy," agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?" "I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you,every time he got close to letting something slip,he started banging his head against the wall." He saw Fred and George look at each other. **

**"What,you think he was lying to me?" said Harry. "Well," said Fred 'put it this way --- house-elves have got powerful magic of their own,but thet can't usally use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts.Someone's idea of a joke.Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?" "Yes," said Harry and Ron together,instantly. "Draco Mayfoy," Harry explained. ''He hates me." "Draco Malfoy?'' said George,turning around. ''Not Lucius Malfoy's son?" "Must be,it's not a very common name,is it?" said Harry. "Why?" "I've heard Dad talking about him,'' said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who." **

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Sirus muttered.

**"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred,craning around to look at Harry, ''Lucious Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it.Load of dung --- Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle." Harry had heard these rumors about Malfoy's family before,and they didn't surprise him at all.Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind,thoughtful,sensitive boy. ''I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf..." said Harry. "Well,whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family,and they'll be rich," said Fred.**

**"Yeah,Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said Geogre. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden.House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that;you wouldn't catch one in our house..." Harry was silent.Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually had the best of everything,his family was rolling in wizard gold;he could just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house.Sending the family servent to stop Harry from going back to Hogwarts also sounded like the sort of thing Malfoy would do.**

"Slimy little git." James said.

**Had Harry been stupid to take Dobby seriously? "I'm glad we came to get you,anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters.I thought it was Errol's fault at first ---" "Who's Errol?'' "Our owl.He's ancient.It wouldn't be the first time collasped on a delivery.So then I tried to borrow Hermes ----" "**_**Who**_**?" "The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he made prefect," said Fred from the front. "But Perct wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him." "Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George,frowning. "And he **_**has**_** been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room...I mean,there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge...You're driving too far west,Fred," he added,pointing at a compass on the dashboard.Fred twiddled the sterring. "So does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry,guessing the answer. "Er,no," said Ron, ''he had to work tonight.Hopefully we'll be able to get it back without Mum noticing we flew it." "What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic,anyway?" "He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Missuse of Muggle Artifacts Office." **

"Hang on," Remus interrupted, "They said that the car was their dad's,but he works for the Missuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?"

"A loophole,maybe." Sirius suggested.

**"The **_**What?"**_** "It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made,you know,in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house.Like,last year,some old witch died and her tea was sold to antiques shop.This Muggle woman bought it,took it home,and tried to serve her freinds her freinds tea in it.It wad a nighmare ---- Dad was working overtime for weeks." "What happened?" "The teapot went berserk andsquirted boiling tea all over the place and one old man ended up in the hospital with sugar tongs clamped to his nose.Dad was going frantic --- it's only him and an warlock called Perkins in the office --- and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up ----" "But your dad --- this car ---" Fred laughed. "Yeah.Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles;ours shed's full of Muggle stuff.He takes it apart,puts spells on it,and puts it back together again.If he raided **_**our**_** house he'd have to put himself under arrest.It drives Mum mad." "That's not the main road," said George,peering down through the winshield. ''We'll be there in ten minutes...Just as well,it's getting light..." A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east.Fred brought the car lower,and Harry saw a patchwork of fields and clumps of trees. "We're a little way outside the village," said George. "Ottery St.Catchpole." Lower and lower went the flying car.The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees. "Touchdown!'' said Fred as,with a slight bump,they hit the ground.They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard,and Harry looked out for the first time at Ron's house.It looked as though it had once been a large stone stone pigpen,but extra rooms had been added here and there untill it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which,Harry reminded himself,it probably was).Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof.A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read,****The Burrow****.Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron.Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard. "It's not much," said Ron. "It's **_**Wonderful**_**," said Harry happily,thinking of Privet Drive.They got out of the car.**

**"Now,we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfest.Then,Ron,you come bounding downstairs going, 'Mum,look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and no one need ever know we flew the car,"**

"Why is it I get the feeling those two have broken the rules before?" asked Lily.

"Because they probably have." Remus added.

**"Right," said Ron. "Come on,Harry,I sleep at the --- at the top ---" Ron had gone a nasty greenish color,his eyes fixed on the house.The other three wheeled around.Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard,scattering the chickens,and for a short,plump,kind faced woman,it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-tooth tiger. "**_**Ah**_**," said Fred. "Oh,dear," said George. Mrs.Weasley came to a halt in front of them,her hands on her hips,staring from one guilty face to the next.She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket. **

**"**_**So**_**," she said. "Morning,Mum," said George,in what he clearly thought was a jaunty,winnig voice. "Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs.Weasley in a deadly whisper. **

"Thats not good." Sirius said.

"Why?" asked Lily.

"Because if she was just angry she would be screaming.But apprently by the way shes talking,she isn't just angry.Shes furious."

**"Sorry,Mum,but see,we had to ----" All three of Mrs.Weasley's sons were taller than she was,but they cowered as her rage broke over them. **_**''Beds empty!No note!Car gone --- could have crashed ---out of my mind with worry --- did you care? --- never,as long as I've lived --- you wait until your father gets home,we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy ----"**_** "Perfect Percy," muttered Fred. "YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!'' yelled Mrs.Weasley,prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "YOu could have**_** died**_**,you could have been **_**seen**_**,you could hve lost your father his **_**job**_** ----" It seemed to go on for hours.Mrs.Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry,who backed away. **

"Smart move,Harry." Said Sirius.

**"I'm very pleased to see you,Harry,dear," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast." SHe turned and walked back into the house and Harry,after a nervous at Ron,who nodded encouragingly,followed her.The kitchen was small and rather cramped.There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the midle,and Harry sat down on the edge of his seat,looking around.He had never been in a wizard house before.**

"Lets hope we can change that," muttered Remus.

**The clock on the wall opposite him had only one hand and no numbers at all.Written around the edge were things like **_**Time to make tea,Time to feed the chickens, **_**and **_**You're late**_**.Books were stacked three deep on the matleplace,books with titles like **_**Charm Your Own Cheese,Enchantment in Baking, **_**and**_** One Minute Feasts --- It's Magic!**_** And unless Harry's ears were deceiving him,the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with the popular singing socerress,Celestina Warbeck." **

"Clestina Warbeck,isn't she that new singer? The one who just started singing less than a year ago?" asked Lily.

"I think so," answered Remus.

**Mrs.Weasly was clattering around,cooking breakfast a little haphazardly,throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausges into the frying pan.Every now and then she muttered things like ''don't know **_**what**_** they were thinking of,'' and **_**never**_** would have believed it." "I don't blame **_**you**_**,dear," she assured Harry,tipping eight or nine sausages onto his plate. "Arthur and I have been worried about you,too.Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't back to Ron by Friday.But really," (she was now adding three fried eggs to his plate) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country --- anyone could have seen you ---" She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink,which began to clean themselves,clincking gently in the backgroun. "It was **_**cloudy**_**,Mum!" said Fred. "You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs.Weasley snapped. "They were starving him,Mum! said George. "And you!" said Mrs.Weasley,but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.At that moment there was a diversion in the form of of a small,red-headed figure in a long nightdress,who appeared in the kitchen,gave a small squeal and ran out again. "Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister.She's been talking about you all summer." **

"Awww," Lily cooed. "She has a crush on Harry."

James rolled his eyes,but Sirius smirked and said "He's better than you James.It took you five years to get a girl to like you,but he's got girls falling for him and he isn't even trying."

This was answered by two pillows thrown at Sirius's head from both Lily and James.

**"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph,Harry," Fred said with a grin,but he caught his mothers eye and bent his face over his plate without another word.Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean,which took a surprisingly short time. "**_**Blimey,**_** I'm tired," yawned Fred,setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and ---"**

**"You will not," snapped Mrs.Weasley. "It's your fault you've been up all night.You're going to de-gnome the garden for me;they're completley out of hand again ---" "Oh,Mum ---" "And you two,'' she said glairng at Ron and Fred. "You can go up to bed,dear," she added to Harry. "You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car ---" But Harry,who felt wide awake,said quickly. ''I'll help Ron.I've never seen a de-gnoming ---" "that's very sweet of you,dear,but it's dull work," said Mrs.Weasly. **

**"Now,let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject ---" And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantlepiece.George groaned. "Mum,we know how to de-gnome a garden ---" Harry looked at the cover of Mrs.Weasley's book.Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words **_**Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests**_**.There was a big photoghraph on the front of a very good-looking wizard,with wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.As always in the wizarding world,the photograph was moving;the wizard,who Harry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart,kept winking cheekily up at them all.Mrs.Weasley beamed down at him. "Oh,he is marvelous," she said ''He knows his household pests,all right,it's a wonderful book..." "Mum **_**fancies**_** him," said Fred,in a very audible whisper. "Don't be ridiculous,Fred," said Mrs.Weasley,her cheeks rather pink. "All right,if you think you know better than Lockhart,you can go and get on with it." **

**Yawning and grumbling,the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry behind them.The garden was large,and in Harry's eyes,exactly what a garden should be.The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it **

"They don't like anything," James added.

**--- there were plently of weeds,and the grass needed cutting --- but there were gnarled trees all around the walls,plants Harry had never seen spilling from every flower bed,and a big green pond full of frogs. "Muggles have garden gnomes,too, you know," Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn. "Yeah,I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron,bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods..." There was a violent scuffling noise,the peony bush shuddered,and Ron straightened up.**

**"**_**This**_** is a gnome," he said grimly. "Gerrof me! Gerrof me!" squealed the gnome.It was certainly nothing like Snata Claus.It was small and leathery looking,with a large,bald head exactly like a potatoe.Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out his horny little feet;he grasped it around the ankels and turned it upside down. "This is what you have to do," he said.He raised the gnome above his head ("Gerrof me!") and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso.Seeing the shocked look on Harry 's face,Ron added, "It doesn't **_**hurt**_** them --- you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnomeholes." He let go of the gnome's ankels: It flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge. "Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond the stump." Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes.He decided just to drop the first one over the hedge,**

"Not a good idea,Harry," Sirius said, "I tried that once and it bit me."

"Um,Sirius he can't hear you,you know?" Remus asked.

"I know."

Remus just shook his head and whispered something that sounded like ''Mental."

**but the gnome,sensing weakness,sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job of shaking it off --- untill --- "Wow,Harry --- that must've been fifty feet..." The air was soon thick with flying gnomes. "See they're not to bright," said George,seizing five or six gnomes ar once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they storm up to have a look.You'd think they'd have learned by now to stay put." Soon,the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a starggling line,their little shoulders hunched.**

**"They'll be back,'' said Ron as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here...Dad's too soft on them;he thinks they're funny..." Just then,the front door slammed. "He's back!" said George**

**"Dad's home!" They hurried through the garden and back into the house.Mr.Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed.He was a thin man,going bald ,but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's.He was wearing long green robes,which were dusty and travel-worn. "What a night," he mumbled,groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids.Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned..." Mr.Weasley took along gulp of tea and sighed. "Find anything,Dad?" said Fred eagerly. "All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr.Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't in my compartment,though.Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets,but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms,thank goodness..." "Why would anyone bother making keys shrink?'' said George. "Just Muggle-batting," sighed Mr.Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when theu need it...Of course,it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking --- they'll insist they just keep losing it.Bless them,they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic,even if it's staring them in the face...But the things our lot have taken to enchanting,you wouldn't believe ---" "LIKE CARS,FOR INSTANCE?" Mrs.Weasley had appeared,holding along poker like a sword.**

"If I was him,I'd start running," said James winching. "You wouldn't do that to me would you,Lils?"

Lily just gave him an evil smile.

**Mr.Weasleys eyes jerked open.He stared guiltily at his wife. "C-cars,Molly,dear?" "Yes,Arthur,cars," said Mrs.Weasley,her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it wastake it apart to see how it worked,while **_**really **_**he was enchanting it to make it **_**fly**_**." Mr.Weasley blinked. "Well,dear,I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that,even if --- er --- he maybe would have done better to,um, tell his wife the truth...There's a loophole in the law,you'll find...**

"How much do you want to bet that he wrote those laws?" Remus asked.

**As lond as he wasn't **_**intending **_**to fly the car,the fact that the car **_**could**_** fly wouldn't ----" "Arthur Weasley,you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs.Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information,Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!" "Harry?" said Mr.Weasley blankly. "Harry who?" He looked around,saw Harry,and jumped. "Good lord,is it Harry Potter?Very pleased to meet you,Ron's told us so much about ---"**

_**"Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night!**_**" shouted Mrs.Weasley. "What have you got to say about that,eh?" "Did you really?" said Mr.Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right? I --- I mean," he faltered as sparkes flew form Mrs.Weasley's eyes, "that --- that was very wrong,boys --- very wrong indeed..." **

The Mauraders snickered at this,and Lily tried (but failed) to hide a smile.

**"Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry as Mrs.Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on,I'll show you my bedroom." They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase,which wound its way,zigzagging up through the house.Ont the third floor landing,a door stood ajar.Harry just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap.**

"Thats so cute," Lily exclaimed.

James looked at her,but instead of commeting just shook his head.

**"Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy.She never shuts up normally ----" They climbed two more flights untill they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it,saying ****Ronald's Room.****Harry steppted in,his head almost touching the sloping ceiling,and blinked.It was like walking into a furnace:Nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bedspread,the walls,even the ceiling.Then Harry realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards,all wearing bright orange robes,carrying boomsticks,and waving energetically. "Your Qudditch team?" said Harry. "The Chudley Cannons," said Ron,pointing at the orange bedspread,which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league." Ron's school speelbooks were stacked untidilt in a corner,next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature **_**The Adventures of Martin Miggs,the Mad Muggle**_**. Ron's magic wand was ying on top of a fish tank full of frog spawn on the windowsill,next to a fat gray sleeping rat,Scabbers,who was snoozing in a patch of sun.**

"That sounds familar," said Remus smirking.The other two Mauraders smiled too.

"By the way,where is Peter?" Lily asked.

"Detention," answered James. "Last night we were out playing a prank and Peter got hungry so he went ot the kitchens to get something to eat.Unfortunatly MaGonagall had decided to talk a nighttime walk."

**Harry stepped over a pack of **

**self-shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out the tiny window.In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys' hedge.Then he turned to look at Ron,who was watching him almost nervously,as though waiting for his opinion. "It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the muggles.And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging the pipes and groaning..." But Harry,grinng widley,said , "This is the best house I've ever been in." Ron's ears went pink.**

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_Hope you enjoyed it! I tried to add alot of comments but I didn't get in as many as I was hoping too.Sorry!_

_Once again sorry for the long update.It will probably be a little while before I post the next chapter,becuase it'll be Christmas in afew days so I'm not going really have a chance to write more of the story.Also the next chapter is like 6 pages longer so it'll take longer to type up.Sorry about that!_


	5. Chapter 5

_I know its been forever since i updated and I'm soooo sorry!But with Christmas and New Years I was so busy I didin't have time.Aanyway,I know the last chapter wasn't very good and I'm sorry about that,I was trying to squeeze in one last updat before Christmas and didn't spend much time on it.Hopefully this chapter is little better.Also I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter,again didn't spend alot of time on the chapter and forgot.Okay,enough babbling,just two last things before the next chapter._

_**Disclaimer: **__I dont own it._

_And I want to thank all my reviewers._

_**Lady clark of books,Nightwing 509,anon,lily-potterKool,Streaming Raidant Fire.**_

**At Flourish And Blotts**

**Life at the burrow was as different as possible from life on Privet Drive.The Dursleys liked everything neat nad ordered;the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected.Harry got a shock the firt time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantlepiece and it shouted, "**_**Tuck your shirt in,scruffy!**_**"**

"The mirror has point.If he's anything like his father..." Sirius started,but was cut of by a pillow thrown diretly at his head.

**The ghoul in the attic howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet,and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal.What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron's,however ,wasn't the fact that everybody there seemed to like him.**

Lily gave a sad sniff and James sighed sadly.

"Look on the bright side," said Sirius trying despertly to cheer up his best freind. "Maybe Mrs.Weasley will be like you mum and treat Harry like her own kid."

Both James and Lily smiled slightly at this.

**Mrs.Weasley fussed over the state if his socks and tried to force him to eat fourth helpings at every meal.Mr.Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he bombard him with questions about life with Muggles,asking him to explain how things like lpugs and the postal service worked. "**_**Fascinating!**_**" he wold say as Harry talked him through using the telephone. "**_**Ingenious,**_**really how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic." Harry heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after he arrived at the Burrow.He and Ron went down to brekfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table.The moment she saw Harry,Ginny accidnetly knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter.**

Sirius opened his mouth to comment,but was scilenced immediately by a glare from Lily.

James laughed,causing Sirius to glare at him.

**Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room.She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like a setting sun.Pretending he hadn't noticed this,Harry sat down and took the toast Mrs.Weasley offered him. **

"Good job,Harry.Keep it casual." said James.

Lily rolled her eyes.

**"Letters from school," said Mr.Weasley,passing Harry and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment,adressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here,Harry --- doesn't miss a trick,that man.**

"Well,he misses somethings," Sirius said smiling at the other two mauraders.After all Dumbledore didn't know there was three illegal animagi at his school.Or the fact the three animagi ran around with a werewolf once a month.

**You've got them,too," he added,as Fred and George ambled in,still in their pajamas.For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters.Harry's told him him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first.There was also a list of the new books he'd need for the coming year. **

**Second-Year Students will require:**

_**The standered book of spells,Grade 2**_

**By Miranda Goshawk**

_**Break with a Banshee **_**by Gilderoy Lockhart**

_**Gadding with Ghouls **_**by Gilderoy Lockhart**

_**Holidays with Hags **_**by Gilderoy Lockhart**

_**Travels with Trolls **_**by Gilderoy Lockhart**

_**Voyages with Vampires **_** by Gilderoy Lockhart**

_**Wanderings with Werewolfs **_** by Gilderoy Lockhart**

Remus scowled,but didn't say anything.

_**Year with the Yeti **_**by Gilderoy Lockhart**

**Fred,who had finshed his own list,peered over at Harry's. ''You've been told to get all Lockhart's books,too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan --- bet it's a witch." At this point,Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly buised himself with the marmalade. **

The Mauraders and Lily snicked at this.

**"They won't come cheep," said George,with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive..." "Well, we'll manage," "I expect we'll be able to pick up alot of Ginny's things secondhand." ''Oh,are you starting Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.She nodded,blushing to the roots of her flaming hair,and put her elbow in the butter dish.Fortunately no one saw this except Harry,because just then Ron's elder Percy walked in.**

**He was already dressed,his Hogwart prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.**

Oh,joy," Sirius muttered under his breath.

**"Morning,all," said Percy briskly. ''Lovely day." He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediatley,pulling from underneath him a moulting,gray feather duster --- at least,that was what Harry thought it was,until he saw that it was breathing. "Errol!'' said Ron,taking the limp owl from under the wing. ''**_**Finally **_**--- he's got Herminoe's answer.I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys." He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it,but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him on the draining board muttering "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it aloud: **_**" ' Dear Ron,and Harry if you're there, '' ' I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out,Ron,because that would get Harry into trouble too.I've been really worried and if Harry is all right,will you plaese let me know at once,but prehaps it would be better if you used a different owl,because I think another delivery might finish your one off. '' 'I'm very busy with schoolwork,of course' --- **_**How **_**can**_** she be? said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation! **

"Yeah!" Sirius cried. "Who would be doing schoolwork on summer vaction.Well,maybe Moony..."

"I do not," Remus said Indigniatly.

"Well,then even Remus doesn't do schoolwork during the summer.So what her problem?"

"Sirius maybe if you let me read,you'll find out." James said paitently.

"Oh,right."

**--- **_**'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books.Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley? " 'Let me know what's happening as soon as you can.Love from Hermione.' '' **_**"Well,that fits in nicley,we can all go and get all your things then,too," said Mrs.Weasley,starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?" Harry,Ron,Fred,and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned.**

"Yes!" James cried,before catching Lily's impaitent face and quickly saying, "Anyway,back to the story."

**It was surronded by trees that blocked it from view of the village below,meaning that they could practice Qudditch there,as long as they didn't fly too high.They couldn't use real Qudditch balls,which owuld have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village;instead they threw apples for one another to catch.They took turns riding Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand,which was easily the best broom: Ron's old shooting star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.Five minutes later they were marching up the hill,broomsticks over their shoulders.They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them,but he had said he was busy.Harry had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut up in his room the rest of the time. "Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred,frowning. ''He's not himself.His exams results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all." "Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained,seeing Harry's puzzled look. "Bill got twelve,too.If we're not careful,we'll have another Head Boy in the family.**

"Whats wrong with being Head Boy?" asked James a little hurt.Afterall he was Head Boy.He hadn't been thrilled with his position at first,and Sirius had sworn up and down that it must be a joke.But after a few weeks of being Head Boy he finally convinced Lily to go out with him so James had concluded the position couldn't be all that bad.

**I don't think I could stand the shame." Bill was the oldest Weasley brother.He and the next brother,Charlie,had already left Hogwarts.Harry had never met either of them,but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank,Gringotts. "Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything..." Harry said nothing.He felt a bit awkward.Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a samll fortune that his parents left him.Of course,it was only in the wizarding world that he had money; you couldn't use Galleons,Sickles,Knuts in Muggle shops.He had never mentioned his Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; he didn't think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.**

"Well,of course it wouldn't," Lily muttered. "Stupid Dursleys."

**Mrs.Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday.After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each,they pulled oon their coats and Mrs.Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantlepiece and peered inside. "We're running low,Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some today...Ah well,guests first! After you,Harry dear!'' And she offered him the flowerpot. "W-what am I supposed to do?'' he stammered. "He's never travled by Floo powdrer,'' said Ron suddenly. "Sorry,Harry,I forgot." "Never?" said Mrs.Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?" "I went on the underground ---" "Really?" said Mr.Weasley eagerly. "Were there **_**escapators**_

"Escapators?" asked Sirius confused.

"I think he means escalators," Lily explained.

Sirius nodded his head.

**How exactly ---" "Not **_**now**_**,Arthur," said Mrs.Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker,dear,but goodness me,if you've never used it before ----" "He'll be alright,Mum," said Fred. "Harry,watch us first." He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot,stepped up to the fire,and threw the powder into the flames.With a roar,the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred,who stepped right into it,shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished. "You must speak clearly,dear," Mrs.Weasley told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate..." **

"He'll be fine," James said.

**"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight,too. "Well,there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from,you know,but as long as you've spoken clearly ---" "He'll be fine,Molly,don't fuss," said Mr.Weasley,helping himself to some Floo powder,too.**

**"But,dear,if he got lost,how would we ever explain it to his aunt and uncle?'' **

"They wouldn't care,they'd probably thank you," Lily muttered furiously.

**"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney,don't worry about that ---" "Well...all right..you go after Arthur," said Mrs.Weasley. "Now,when you get into the fire,say where you're going ---" "And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised. "And your eyes shut," said Mrs.Weasley. "The soot ---" "Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace ---" "But don't panic nad get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George." Trying hard to bear all this in mind,Harry took a pince of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire.He took a deep breath,scattered the powder into the flames,and stepped forwards;the fire felt like a warm breese;he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash. "D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.**

"Oh,no," Remus moaned. "That happened to me once.I ended up at some wierd shop I can' remember the name of it,but at least it wasn't far from Diagon Alley.

**It was as though he was being sucked down a giant drain.He seemed to spinning very fast --- the roaring in his ears was deafening --- he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick --- something hard knocked he elbow and he tucked it in tightly,still spinning and spinning --- now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face --- squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond --- his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him --- he closed his eyes again wishing it would stop,and then --- He fell,face forward,onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.**

"Ooh,thats not good," said James winching, "If his eyesights like mine he'll be as blind as a bat."

**Dizzy and bruised,covered in soot,he got gingerly to his feet,holding his broken glasses up to his eyes.He was quite alone,but **_**where**_** he was,he had no idea.All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large,dimly lit wizard's shop --- but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion,a blood-stained pack of cards,and a staring glass eye.evil-looking masks stared down from the walls,an assortment of human bones lay on a counter,and rusty spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.Even worse,the dark,narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop window was defintely not Diagon Alley.The soner he got out of here,the better.Nose still stinging where it hit the hearth,Harry made his way swiftly and silently yoward the door,but before he'd got halfway toward the door,two pepole appeared on the other side of the glass --- and one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost,covered in soot,and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy.**

"Oh great," Sirius exclaimed why can't Harry have a normal day for once?"

**Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed,leaving a small crack to peer through.Seconds later,a bell clanged,and Malfoy stepped into the shop.The man who followed could only be Draco's father.He had the same pale,pointed face and identical cold,gray eyes.**

"And they probably share the same rotten attitude too," Sirius said.

**Mr.Malfoy crossed the shop,looking lazily at the items on display,and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying "Touch nothing,Draco." Malfoy,who had reached for a glass eye,said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present." "I said I was going to buy you a racing broom," said his father,druming his fingers on the counter. "What's the good of that if I'm not on the house team?" said Malfoy,looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year.Special premission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor.**

"He was on the team in first year?" James said quietly.

"Cover you're ears," Sirius advised,doing so himself.

"YES!" James cried. "He's a qudditch genius!"

"James,James," said Lily,trying to interupt his rambling. "JAMES!'

"Yes," he asked her innocently.

"Get back to the book."

"But Lily he..."

"James,do it or I'll curse you into oblivion,am I clear?"

"Crystal," he said looking fearfully at her.

Remus leaned over to Sirius and whispered, "He doesn't stand a chance."

Sirius snickered.

"What are you two talking about," Lily asked looking at them with a expression of suspicion and anger.

"Nothing!'' they said quickly.

**He's not even that good,it's just because he's **_**famous**_**...famous for having a stupid **_**scar **_**on his forehead..." Malfoy bent to examine a shelf full of skulls. "...everyone thinks he's so **_**smart**_**,wonderful **_**Potter**_** with his **_**scar**_** and his **_**broomstick**_** ----" "You told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr.Malfoy,with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that it is not --- prudent --- to appear less than fond of Harry Potter,not that most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear --- ah,Mr.Borgin." A stooped man had appeared behind the counter,smoothing his greasy hair back his face. "Mr.Malfoy,what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr.Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted --- and young Master Malfoy,too --- charmed.How may I be of assistance? I must show you,just in today,and very resonable priced ---" "I'm not buying today,Mr.Borgin,but selling," said Mr.Malfoy. "Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr.Borgin's face. "You have heard,of course that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr.Malfoy,taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unraveling it for Mr.Borgin to read. "I have a few --- ah --- items at home that might embarras me,if the Ministry were to call..."**

"Yeah,right," Sirius muttered, "They'd probably throw you in Azkaban.''

**Mr.Borgin fixed a pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list. "The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you,sir,surely?" Mr.Malfoy's lip curled. "I have not been visted yet.The name Malfoy gorws ever more meddlesome.There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act --- no doubt that flea-bitten,Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it ---" **

"Stupid git," Lily said, "leave him alone."

**Harry felt a hot surge of anger. '' --- and as you see,certain of these poisons might make it **_**appear**_** ---" "I understand,sir,of course," said Mr.Borgin. "Let me see..." "Can I have **_**that**_**?" interupted Draco,pointing at the withered hand on its cushion. "Ah,the Hand of Glory!" said Mr.Borgin,abandoning Mr.Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunders! Your son has fine taste,sir." "I hope my son will amount more to more than a thief or a plunderer,Borgin," said Mr.Malfoy coldly,and Mr.Borgin said quickly, "No offense,sir no offense meant ---" "Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr.Malfoy more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for ---" "It's not my fault," retorted Draco "The teachers all have favorites,that Hermione Granger ---" "I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam," snapped Mr.Malfoy. **

"Take that,Malfoy!" said Remus.

**"Ha!" said Harry under his breath,pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry. **

**"It's the same all over," said Mr.Borgin,in his oily voice . "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere ---" "Not with me," said Mr.Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring. "No,sir,nor with me,sir,'' said Mr.Borgin,with a deep bow. "In that case,perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr.Malfoy shortly. "I am in something of a hurry,Borgin,I have important business elsewhere today ---" They started to haggle.Harry watched nervously as Draco drew nearer to his hiding place,examining the objects for sale.Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read,smirking,the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, **_**Caution: Do Not Touch.Cursed --- Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggles Owners to Date.**_

"How awful!'' Lily cried.

**Draco turned awayand saw the cabinet right in front of him.He walked forward --- he stretched out his hand for the handle ---**

**"Done," said Mr.Malfoy at the counter. "Come,Draco --- " Harry wiped his forehead on his sleeve as Draco turned away. **

**"Good day to you Mr.Borgin.I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods." The moment the door had closed,Mr.Borgin dropped his oily manner. "Good day yourself, **_**Mister**_** Malfoy,and if the stories are true,you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your **_**manor**_**..." Muttering darkly,Mr.Borgin disappeared into a back room.Harry waited for a minute in case he came back,then,quietly as he could,slipped out of the cabinet,past the glass cases,and out of the shop door.Clutching his broken glasses to his face,Harry stared around.He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts.**

"Oh,no," Sirius muttered turning pale.

"Whats the matter,Padfoot?" Asked James.

"I think Harrys in Knockturn Alley.I remember Mum and Dad draging me and Regleus down there.I hated that place."

James and Lily both paled and Remus's eyes grew wide.

"Padfoot,I o hope your wrong"

"Me,too,James."

**The one he'd just left,Borgin and Burkes,looked like the largest,but opposite him was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and,two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders.Two-shabby looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway,muttering to each other.Feeling jummpy,Harry set off,trying to hold his glasses on straight and hoping against hope he'd be able to find a way out of here.An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley.**

"Oh,great," Sirius moaned,Burring his face in his hands.

While James and Lily grew so pale they were nearly as white as Nearly Headless Nick.

**This didn't help,as Harry had never heard such a place.He supposed he hadn't spoken clearly enough through his mouthful of ashes back in the Weasleys' fire.Trying to stay calm,he wondered what to do. "Not lost are you,my dear?" said a voice in his ear,making him jump.An aged witch stood in front of him,holding a tray of waht looked horribly like whole human fingernails.She leered at him,showing mossy teeth.Harry backed away. "I'm fine,thanks," he said. "I'm just ---" "HARRY!" What d'yeh think yer doin' down here?" Harry's heart leapt.So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed as the massive form of Hagrid,**

Oh,thank goodness," Lily said,color begining to returning to her face.

**the Hogwarts gamekeeper,came striding toward them,beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristling beard. "Hagrid!" Harry croaked in relief. "I was lost --- Floo powder ---" Hagrid seized Harry by the scruff of his neck and pulled him away from the witch,knocking the tray out of her hands.Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into bright sunlight.Harry saw a familliar,snow-white marble building in the distance --- Gingotts Bank.Hagrid had steered him right into Diagon Alley. "Yer a mess!'' said Hagrid gruffly,brushing soot of Harry so forcefully he nearly knocked him into a barrel of Dragon Dung outside an apothecary.**

The Mauraders and Lily winched.

"Hagrids great and all," said Sirius, "But he needs to work on how to be more careful.

**"Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley,I dunno --- dodgy place,Harry --- don' want no one ter see yeh down there ---" "I realized **_**that**_**," said Harry,ducking as Hagrid made to brush him off again. "I told you,I was lost --- what were you doing down there,anyway?" "**_**I**_** was looking fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent," growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages.Yer not on yer own?" "I'm staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "I've got to go and find them..." They set off down the street together. "How come yeh never worte back ter me?" said Hagrid as Harry jogged alongside him (he had to take three steps to every side of Hagrid's enormous boots).Harry explained all about Dooby and the Dursleys. "Lousy Muggles,"**

"Too right,Hagrid." Remus agreed.

**growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known ---"**

**"Harry! Harry! Over here!" Harry looked up and saw Hermione Grangers tanding on the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts.She ran down to meet them,her bushy brown hair flying behind her. "What happened to your glasses? Hello,Hagrid ---Oh,it's **_**wonderful**_** to see you two again --- Are you coming into Gringotts,Harry?" "As sson as I've found the Weasleys," said Harry "Yeh won't have long to wait," Hagrid said with a grin.Harry and Hermione looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron,Fred,George,Percy,and Mr.Weasley. "Harry," Mr.Weasley panted. "We **_**hoped**_** you'd only gone one grate too far..." He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic --- she's coming now ---" "Where did you come out?" Ron asked. "Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly. "**_**Excellent!**_**" **

"No its not,'' cried Lily, "are they insane?"

**said Fred and George together. "We've never been allowed to go in," said Ron enviously. "I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid. Mrs.Weasley now came galloping into view,her handbag swinging wildly in one hand,Ginny just clinging onto the other. "Oh,Harry --- oh,my dear --- you could have been anywhere ---" Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid had not managed to beat away.Mr.Weasley took Harry's glasses,gave them a tap of his wand,and returned them,good as new. "Well,gotta be," said Hagrid,who was having his hand wrung by Mrs.Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him,Hagrid!") **

"Hagrids great," Sirius said smiling.And the others nodded in agreement.

**"See yer at Hogwarts!'' And he strode away,head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.**

**"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father." "Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr.Weasley sharply behind them. "No,he was selling ---" **

**"So he's worried," said Mr.Weasley with grim satisfaction. ''Oh,I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something..." **

"Beleive I'd be happy if you did too," Sirius remarked.

**"You be careful,Arthur," said Mrs.Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. ''That family's trouble.Don't go biting off more than you can chew ---" "So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr.Weasley indignantly,but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents,who were standing nervously at the counter that ean all along the great marble hall,waiting for Hermione to introduce them. **

"Mr.Weasley will have a great day,then." Remus said smiling.

**"But you're **_**Muggles**_**!'' said Mr.Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh,you're changing Muggle money. Molly,look!" he pointed excitedly at the ten pound notes in Mr.Granger's hand. "Meet you back here,?" Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys and Harry were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.The vaults were reached by means of small,goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels.Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys' vault,but felt dreadful,far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley,when it was opened.There was a very small pile of Sickles inside,and just one gold Galleon.Mrs.Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag.**

"Oh,how awful!" Lily cried. "How will they aford everthing?"

**Harry felt worse when they reached his vault.He tried to block the contents from view as he hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a leather bag.Back outside on the marble steps,they all separated.Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill.Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts,Lee **

**Jordan.Mrs.Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop.Mr.Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink. "We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs.Weasley,setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down in Knockturn Alley!" she shouted after the twins' retreating backs.**

James,smirked.His mum had said the same thing to him countless times.

**Harry,Ron,and Hermione strolled off along the winding,cobbled street.The bag og gold,silver,and bronze jangling cheefully in Harry' pocket was clamoring to be spent,so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams,which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley,examining the fascinating shop windows.Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the window of Quality Qudditch Supplies untill Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door.In Gambol and Jabes Wizarding Joke Shop,the met Fred,George,and Lee Jordan,who were stocking up on Dr.Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-start,No-Heat Fireworks,**

"Not surprising," Sirius said.

"They sound exactly like you lot," said Lily.

Remus shook his head,if Fred and George are anything like James and Sirius.I pity they teachers."

James and Sirius stuck their noses in the air and sniffed snootily.But Remus just smirked at them and shook his head again.

**and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands,lopsided brass scales,and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy,deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called**_** Prefects Who Gained Power**_**. "**_**A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," **_**Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds **_**fascinating**_**..." **

"Very," Sirius said in a bored tone.

**"Go away," Percy snapped. "Course, he's very ambitious,Percy,he's got it all planned out...He wants to be Minister of Magic..." Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.An hour later,they headed for Flourish and Blotts.They were by no means the only ones making their to the bookshop.As they approached it,they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors,trying to get in.The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:**

**GILDEROY LOCKHART**

**will be signing copies of his autobiography**

**MAGICAL ME**

**today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.**

**"We can actually meet him!'' Hermione squealed. "I mean,he's written almost the whole booklist!'' The crowd seemed to be made up of witches around Mrs.Weasley's age.A harrassed-looking wizard stood at the door,saying "Calmly,please,ladies...Don't push,there...mind the books,now..." Harry,Ron,and Hermione squeezed inside.A long line wound right to the back of the shop,where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books.They each grabbed a copy of **_**The Standard Book of Spells**_** 2 and sneaked up to the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs.Grnager. "Oh,there you are,good," said Mrs.Weasley.She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute..." Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view,seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face,**

"Full of yourself,much?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow.

**all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd.The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not-blue that exactly matched his eyes;his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle of his wavy hair.A short,irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emmited puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash. "Out of the way,there," he snarled at Ron,moving back to get a better shot. ''This is for the **_**Daily Prophet**_** ---" **

**"Big deal," said Ron,rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.Gilderoy Lockart heard him.He looked up.He saw Ron ---and then he saw Harry.He stared.Then he lept to his feet and positively shouted, "It **_**can't**_** be Harry Potter?"**

**The crowd parted,whispering excitedly;Lockhart dived forward,seized Harry's arm,and pulled him to the front.**

"Oh,for crying out loud," Lily cried, "When are they going to leave him alone?"

**The crowd burst into applause.Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer,who was clicking away madly,wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys. "Nice big smile,Harry," said Lockhart,through his own gleaming teeth. ''Together,you and I are worth the front page." When he finally let go of Harry's hand,Harry could hardly feel his fingers.He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys,but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clmped him tightly to his side. **

**"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly,waving for quiet. ''What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today,he only wanted to buy my autobiography --- which I shall be happy to present him now,free charge ---" The crowd applauded again. ''He had **_**no idea**_**,"**

"Just how big a jerk you are?" Sirius asked.

**Lockhart continued,giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip tot he end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much,much more than my book, **_**Magical Me**_**. He and his schoolmates will,in fact,be getting the real magical me.Yes,ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September,I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy!" **

"Oh,no," Remus muttered, "they're doomed."

**The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.Staggering slightly under their weight,he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room,where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron. "You have these," Harry mumbled to her,tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own ---"**

"Awww,that so sweet of him,'' Lily said.

**"Bet you loved that,didn't you,Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing.He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy,who was wearing his usual sneer. "**_**Famous**_** Harry Potter," said Malfoy. 'Can't even walk into a **_**bookshop**_** without making the front page." "Leave him alone,he didn't want all that!'' said Ginny.**

"You tell'em," James said noding his head in agreement. "Stupid little slimy git."

**It was the she had spoken in front of Harry.She was glaring at Malfoy. "Potter,you've got yourself a **_**girlfriend**_**!" drawled Malfoy.Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought thir way over,both clutching stacks of Lockharts books. "Oh,it's you," said Ron,looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasent on the sole of his shoe. **

"No," said Sirius with a thoughtful look, "I think he looks like something along the lines of a ferret.

**"Bet you're surprised to see Harry here,eh?" "Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop,Weasley," retorted Malfoy. ''I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."**

**Ron went as red as Ginny.He dropped his books into the cauldron,too,and started toward Malfoy,but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.**

"You should have let him hit the little git," said Sirius.

**"Ron!" Mr.Weasley,struggling over with Fred and George. "Wjat are you doing? It's too crowded in here,let's go outside." "Well,well,well --- Arthur Weasley." It was Mr.Malfoy.He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder,sneering in just the same way. "Luciucs," said Mr.Weasley,nodding coldly. "Busy time at the Minisrty,I hear," said Mr.Malfoy. "All those raids...I hope they're paying you overtime?'' He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted,from amid the glossy Lockhart books,a very old,very battered copy of **_**A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.**_** "Obviously not," Mr.Malfoy said. "Dear me,what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?" **

"If anyone is a disgrace it you Malofys," Sirius said eyes narrowing.

**Mr.Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard,Malfoy," he said. "Clearly," said Mr.Malfoy,his pale eyes starying to Mr. and Mrs.Granger,who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep,Weasley...and I thought you family could sink no lower ---" There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron wnet flying; Mr.Weasley had thrown himself at Mr.Malfoy,knocking him backward into a bookshelf.**

All the Mauraders started clapping loudly.And Lily couldn't help but join them.

**Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him,Dad!'' from Fred or George; Mrs.Weasley was shrieking, "No,Arthur,no!''; the crowd stampeded backward,knocking more shelves over;**

**"Gentlemen,please --- please!" cried the assistant,and then,louder than all --- "Break it up,there,gents,break it up ---"**

**Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books.In an instant he had pulled Mr.Weasley and Mr.Malfoy apart.Mr.Weasley had a cut lip and Mr.Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an **_**Encyclopedia of Toadstools**_

"YES!," Sirius cried, "I hope he gets s big black eye."

**He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book.He thrust it at her,eyes glittering with malice. "Here,girl --- take your book --- it's the best you father van give you ---" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept fromt he shop. **

**"Yeh should've ignored him,Arthur," said Hagrid,almost lifting Mr.Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core,the whole family,everyone knows that --- no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter --- bad blood,that's what it is**

"Bravo,Hagrid!'' Sirius exclaimed clapping, "he just described the Malfoys to a T.Except he forgot to mention,that they're dead ugly,too."

**--- come on now --- let's get outta here." The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving,but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it.They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs.Weasley beside herself with fury. "A **_**fine**_** example to set for the children...**_**brawling**_** in public...**_**what**_** Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought ---" **

"Who cares?" James and Sirius asked in unsion.

**"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the **_**Daily Prophet**_** if he'd be able to work the fight into his report --- said it was all publicity ---" But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the leaky cauldron,where Harry,the Weasleys,and all their shopping would be travling back to the Burrow using Floo powder.They said good-bye to the Grangers,who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side; Mr.Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked,but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs.Weasley's face.Harry took of his glasses and put them saftly in his pocket before helping himself to Floo powder.It definitely wasn't his favorite way to travel. **

_And incase your wondering the shop Remus ended up in,it wans't in Diagon Alley.Anyway,I'll try updating sooner this time,but my sister is coming in for a visit this weekend and I don't get to see her that often,so I'll be spending time with her.But none the less I'll try and get the next chapter up faster.Thanks for reading!_

_P.S. Just so you know a reveiw always makes my day!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Okay,before you kill me,I know its been over a month since I updated.But I've had alot on my mind and alot of stuff going on.Not to mention writers block.Anyway,Just 3 more things before the next chapter,and they are..._

_#1 __**Disclaimer:I don't own anything.**_

_#2 thanks to all my reveiwers:_Lady clark of books,lily-potterKOOL,ahrocks08,oooooo,EmeraldFire512,TrackStarKlutz,Crazy-HarryPotter-Nerd.

_#3 And finally I would like to dedicate this chapter to _EmeraldFire512_ Because _EmeraldFire512_ gave me the motivation to finsh this chapter.Also I'll be looking for an update now,_EmeraldFire512.

**The Whomping Willow**

**The end of the summer vacation came too quickly for Harry's liking.**

"Probably a first," Sirius muttered.

**He was looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts,but his month at the Burrow had been the happiest of his life.**

**It was difficult not to feel jealous of Ron when he thought of the Dursleys and the sort of welcome he could expect next time he turned up on Privet Drive.**

"They had better not lock him up again,or I'll find some way to come back and haunt them the rest of their lives," James said dangerously.

**On their last evening,Mrs.Weasley conjured up a scrumptiuos dinner that included all of Harry's favorite things,ending with a mouthwatering treacle pudding.Fred and George rounded off the evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks; they filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour.**

"Now thats an idea," Sirius whispered quietly.

"What did you say,Padfoot?" James asked his best freind.

"I said that would be an idea.This year at the feast,it'll be our last year and we said we should do something big.End our last year with a bang.We'll get all our fireworks together and set them all off right after Dumbeldores' speach.And we could set them of right under the Slytherin table.It would be perfect! And we could get them to spell out..."

"Lily,just keep reading otherwise he'll never stop and we'll be here all night." James said.She smiled and started reading again.

**Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.It took while to get started next morning.They were up at dawn,but somehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do.Mrs.Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills; pepole kept colliding on the stairs,half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands; and Mr.Weasley nearly broke his neck,tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car.**

"Yeah,remember this year when Padfoot decided he'd make his trunk float down the stairs instead of carrying it?" James said smirking.

"How could I forget?" said Remus rubbing the back of his head, "I've still got a huge bump on the back of my head,thanks to Padfoot."

"Your welcome," said Sirius smiling.

**Harry couldn't see how eight pepole,six large trunks,two owls,and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia.**

**He had reckoned,of course,without the special features that Mr.Weasley had added. "Not a word to Molly," he wispered to Harry as he opened the trunk and showed him how it had been magiclly expanded so that the luggagfe fitted easily.**

"You know that could come in handy,maybe we should get one of those cars.With the 'magical bonus faetures' of course." James said,but then he caught sight of the look on Lily's face. "But of course we would never really get one.Its totally irresponsible and juvenile."

"But having one of those Muggle motercycles with some of those 'special features' would be cool though." said Sirius before receving the same look from Lily. "But of course I'm joking,who would really buy something like that."

Remus,who the entire timewas trying very _very_ hard to hold in his laughter,couldn't take it anymore.He burst out laughing,not even stopping when he fell out of his chair onto the floor from laughing so hard.

After a few moments Sirius said "Nice Moony,thats real nice of you." Which only made the werewolf laugh harder.it took him a full ten minutes to gain control of his laughter so they could keep reading.

**When at last they were all in the car,Mrs.Weasley glanced into the back seat,where Harry,Ron,Fred,George,and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side,and said. "Muggles**_** do**_** know more than we give them credit for,don't they?" She and Ginny got into the front seat,which had been streched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean,you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside,would you?"**

**Mr.Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard,Harry turning back for a last look at the house.He barely had time to wonder when he'd see it again when they were back --- George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks.**

"Not very experienced pranksters are they?" asked Sirius.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well,an experienced prankster would never forget something as important as that,now would they?" Sirius asked as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Really Lily,you've got alot to learn."

**Five minutes after that,they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick.**

"Not a very experienced qudditch player either," Sirius added. "And before you ask Lily its because..."

"I know,I know," she interupted, ''its because no experienced quidditch player would forget something as important as that."

Sirius looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I don't have as much to learn as you think," she said smiling mischievously.

**They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary.By the time she had clambered back into the car,they were running very late,and tempers were running high.Mr.Wealsey glanced at his watch and then at his wife. "Molly,dear ---"   
"**_**No,**_**Arthur ---" "No one would see --- this little button is an Invisibilty Booster I installed --- that'd get us up in the air --- then we fly above the clouds.We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser ---" **

**"I said **_**no**_**,Arthur,not in broad daylight ---" **

"But it would be so co--- " Jame started to say before noticing the deadly look on Lilys face. "I - I mean inappropriate.Yeah,thats what I meant."

"Sure you did,Prongs" Sirius said smiling.

"Shut up,Padfoot," James added glaring at his freind.

**They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven.**

"You see James,they made it and they didn't even have to fly to get there on time." Lily said smugly.

James opened his mouth to retort but realised that he would probably never win against Lily and closed his mouth again.

Remus put a hand up over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

**Mr.Wealsey dashed across the road to get trollys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year.The tricky part was getting onto platform nine and three-quarters,which wasn't visible to the to the muggle eye.What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten.It didn't hurt,but it had to be done carefully so that none of the muggles noticed you vanishing. **

"Thank you captian obvi--" Sirius started to say beofre seeing Lily's glare and James's raised eyebrows. "I mean...umm...good job Harry.Very good job.We're all very proud of you." He said clapping his hands.

Lily rolled her eyes and gave a sigh that clearly meant she thought Sirius was a lost cause and there was nothing she could do to help him.

**"Percy first," said Mrs.Weasley,looking nervously at the clock overhead,which showed they had five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.Percy strode briskly forward and vanished.Mr.Weasley went next;Fred and George followed. "I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs.Weasley told Harry and Ron,grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off.In the blink of an eye they were gone. "Let's go together,we've only got a minute," Ron said to Harry.Harry made sure that Hedwig's cage was saftly wedged on the top of his trunk and wheeled his trolley around to face the barrier.He felt perfectly confident;this wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as using Floo powder.Both of them bent low over the handles of their trolley's and walked purposefully toward the barrier,gathering speed.A few feet away from it,theybroke into a run and --- **

**CRASH. **

"Thats not supposed to happen," Lily said worriedly looking over at James to see him looking also looking a little worried.

**Both trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backward; Ron's trunk fell off with a loud thump,Harry was knocked off his feet,and Hedwig's cage bounced onto the shiney floor,and she rolled away,shrieking indignantly; pepole all around them stared and a guard nearby yelled, "What in the blazes d'you think you're doing?" "Lost control of the trolley," Harry gasped,clutching his ribs as he got up.**

"Hmm,not bad," Sirius said thoughtfully, "definatley believable.He has the makings of a good maurader." he concluded.

"Don't you dare corupt my baby," Lily treatened.

"You can't fight it Lils' he's going to be the son of one maurader and the godson of another.Therefore hes going to be a maurader."

"That doesn't mean anything, and who says your going to be his godfather?"

"Of course I'll be his godfather," Sirius said with a wave of his hand, "anyway back to the topic on hand.He's a maurader and nothing you say or do will change that."

Before she could answer,remus asked with a grin "Don't you want to add you opinion,James?"

''No,no,I have nothing to add." he said hurridly.

"Actually James,I would like to hear your opinion on this," Lily said turning to look at him.

"You want my opinion?" he said, "my opnion is that we start reading again.Okay? Good?" and without waiting for an answer he picked up the book and started to read.

**Ron ran to pick up Hedwig,who was causing such a scene that there was a lot of muttering about cruelty to animals from the surrounding crowd. "Why can't we get through?" Harry hissed to Ron. **

**"I dunno ---" Ron looked wildly around.A dozen curious pepole were still watching them. "We're going to miss the train," Ron wispered. "I don't understand why the gateway's sealed itself ---" Harry looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.Ten seconds...nine seconds... **

**He wheeled his trolley forward cautiously until it was right against the barrier and pushed with all his might.The metal remained solid.**

"You think maybe the clocks off and the train had already left?" Sirius asked frowning.

"Its possible,but I doubt it," Remus answered frowning also.

**Three seconds...two seconds...one second...**

**"It's gone," said Ron,sounding stunned.**

**"The trains left.What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us? Have you got any Muggle money?" Harry gave a hollow laugh. "The Dursleys haven't given me pocket money for about six years." **

James narrowed his eyes,but did't say anything.

**Ron pressed his ear to the cold barrier. "Can't hear a thing." he said tensly. "What're we going to do? I don't know how long it'll take Mum and Dad to get back to us." They looked around.Pepole were still watching them,mainly because of Hedwig's continuing screeches. "I think we'd better go wait by the car," said Harry. "We're attracting too much atten ---"**

**"Harry!" said Ron his eyes gleaming . "The car!" **

**"What about it?" "We can fly it to Hogwarts!'' **

"What?!" lily snapped.

"I didn't say it," James cried throwing down the book and putting up his hands in surrender, "he said it," he added pointing at the book.

Sirius and Remus lost it.They both started laughing loudly.

James narrowed his eyes ''Thanks alot guys,you're a lot of help."

**"But I thought ---"**

**"We're stuck,right?" And we've got to get to school,haven't we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency,section nineteen or something of the Restriction of Thingy ---" **

"Restriction thingy?" Lily asked incredusaly.She groaned and buried her face in her hands.

**"But your Mum and Dad..." said Harry,pushing against the barrier in the vain hope that it would give way.**

**"How will they get home?"**

"Thats right Harry," Lily nodded, "don't go along with it.Just go wait by the car until the Weasleys get there."

"But it would be really cool if they did fly the car to Hogwarts," Sirius said smiling. ''They'd go down in history.I mean no one ever ---" He stopped dead when he saw the muderous look on Lily's face. ''but that would be very dangerous and stupid too,no one should ever try to fly a car all the way to Hogwarts.Who would even think of such a thing?"

**They don't need the car!" said Ron impatiently. "They know how to Apparate! You know,just vanish and reapper at home! They only bother with the Floo powder and the car because we're not allowed to Apparte yet..."**

**Harry's feeling of panic turned suddenly you excitment.**

"Harry James Potter,if you fly that car then so help me,I'll come back from the dead and ground you for the rest of your life" said Lily treatingly.

"Harry _James _Potter," asked James.

"Yes.Do you have a problem with that?" she asked fiercely giving him a glare worthy of McGonagall.

"No," he replied quickly,shaking his head.

"I think we've lost him for good,Moony" Sirius whispered quietly to Remus.

"I think you're right," he whispered back.

**"Can you fly it?" **

**"No problem," said Ron,wheeling his trolley to face the exit. "C'mon,let's go.If we hurry we'll be able to follow the Hogwarts Express ----" And they marched off through the crowd of curious Muggles,out of the station and back onto the side of the road where the old Ford Anglia was parked.Ron unlocked the cavernous trunk with a series of taps from his wand.They heaved their luggage back in,put Hedwig on the back seat,and got in the front. "Check that no one's watching," said Ron,starting the ignition with another tap of the wand.Harry stuck his head out of the window: Traffic was rumbling along the main road ahead,but their street was empty. "Okay," he said.Ron pressed a tiny silver button on the dashboard.The car around them vannished --- and so did they.**

"Cool," Sirius whispered quietly making sure that Lily couldn't hear him.He doubted she could,she was too busy concentrating on the book.

**Harry could feel the seat vibrating beneath him,hear the engine,feel the hands on his knees and his glasses on his nose,but for all he could see,he had become a pair eyeballs,floating a few feat above the ground in a dingy street full of parked cars. "Let's go," said Ron's voice from his right.And the ground and the dirty buildings on either side of fell away,dropping out of sight as the car rose; in seconds,the whole of London lay,smoky and glittering,below them.Then there was a popping noise and the car,Harry,and Ron reappered.**

"Thats not good," James said frowning.

"Not good? Not good? This is diasterous!" Lily cried franticly.

James looked at her a little shocked,but said nothing.Sirius leaned over and whispered to James "Are you sure you want to marry her?"

James looked at him with an exasperated look,and simply rolled his eyes at his freind.

**"Uh-oh," said Ron,jabbing at the Invisibility Booster. "It's faulty ---'' Both of them pummled it.The car vanished.Then it flickered back again. "Hold on!'' Ron yelled,and he slammed his foot on the accelerator; they shot straight into the low,woolly clouds and everything turned dull and foggy. "Now what?" said Harry,blinking at the solid mass of cloud pressing in on them from all side. "We need to see the train to know what direction to go in," said Ron. "Dip back down --- quickly ---" They dropped back beneath the clouds and twisted around in their seats,squinting at the ground. **

**"I can see it!" Harry yelled. "Right ahead --- there!'' The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below them like a scarlet snake.**

"See Lily,they'll be just fine.They can just follow the Hogwarts Express right to Hogwarts." said James reasuringly. "I told you they'd...

She glared at him. ''I mean I -- uh -- well -- how about I just shut up now?" and giving her an almost painful look he started reading again.

**"Due north," said Ron,checking the compass on the dashboard. "Okay,we'll just have to check on it every half hour or so --- hold on ---" And they shot up through the clouds.A minute later,they burst out into a blaze of sunlight.It was a different world.The wheels of the car skimmed the sea of fluffy cloud,the sky a bright,endless blue under the blinding white sun. "All we've got to worry about now is airplains," said Ron.They looked at each other and started to laugh; for a long time they couldn't stop.It was as though they had been plunged into a fabulous dream.This,though Harry,was surely the only way to travel --- past swirls and turrrts of snowy cloud,in a car full of hot,bright sunlight,with a fat pack of toffees in the glove compartment,and the prospect of seeing Fred's and George's jealous faces when they landed smoothly and spectacularly on the sweeping lawn in front of the Hogwarts castle.**

"That would be kinda funny," Sirius said chuckling.Before Lily once again glared at him.

"But then again no should fly a car in the firstplace." he said watching her carefully.

**They made regular checks on the train as they flew farther and farther north,each dip beneath the clouds showing them a different view.London was soon far behind them,replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide,purplish moors,a great city alive with cars like multicolored ants,villages with tiny toy churches.Several uneventful hours later,however,Harry had to admit that some of the fun was wearing off.The toffees had made them extremely thirsty and they had nothing to drink.He and Ron had pulled off their sweaters,but Harry's T-shirt was sticking to the back of his seat and his glassses kept sliding down to the end of his sweaty nose.He had stopped noticing the fantastic cloud shapes now and was thinking longingly of the train miles below,where you could buy ice-cold pumpkin juice from a trolley pushed by a plump witch.**_**Why**_** hadn't they been able to get onto platform nine and three-quarters?**

"Thats something we'd all like to know." Remus muttered.

**"Can't be much farther,can it?" croaked Ron,hours later still,as the sun started to sink into their floor of cloud,staining it a deep pink. "Ready for another check on the train?" It was still right below the,.winding its way past a snowcapped mountain.**

**It was much darker beneath the canopy of clouds.Ron put his foot on the accelerator and drove them upward again,but as he did so,the engine began to whine.**

Lily groaned loudly and said "Why did they have to fly that car?"

**Harry and Ron exchanged nervous glances. **

**"It's probably just tired," said Ron. "it's never been this far before..."**

"And yet you still drove,even though you knew it probably couldn't make the trip." Lily muttered furiously.

James looked at her worridly,as though fearing for her sanity.But decided it wise not to say anything and just start reading again.

**And they both pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became steadily darker.Stars were blossoming in the blackness.Harry pulled his sweater back on,trying to ignore the way the windshield wipers were now waving feebly,as though in protest. "Not far," said Ron,more to car than to Harry, "not far now," and he patted the dashboard nervously.When they flew back beneath the clouds a little while later,they had to squint through the darkness for a landmark they knew. "**_**There**_**!" Harry shouted,making Ron and Hedwig jump. "Straight ahead!'' Silhouetted on the dark horizen,high on the cliff over the lake,stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle.**

"Yes! They made it! Sirius cried pumping his fist in the air.

**But the car had begun to shudder and was losing speed. "Come on," Ron said cajolingly,giving the steering wheel a little shake, "nearly there,come on ---" The engine groaned.Narrow jets of steam were issuing from under the hood.**

"Or not," Sirius said the grin leaving his face.Lily looked at him.

"But then again,what do I know?" He said quickly.

**Harry found himself gripping the edges of his seat very hard as they flew toward the lake.The car gave a nasty wobble.Glancing out of his window,Harry saw the smooth,black,glassy surface of the water,a mile below.Ron's knuckles were white on the steering wheel.The car wobbled again. ''Come **_**on**_**," Ron muttered.They were over the lake --- the castle was right ahead --- Ron put his foot down.There was a loud clunk,a splutter,and the enigine died completley. "Uh,oh," said Ron,into the scilence.**

"Uh,oh," Lily said increduasly, "They're about to crash into the castle and all he can say is 'uh,oh'?"

**The nose of the car dropped.They were falling,gathering speed,heading straight for the solid castle wall. "**_**Noooooo**_**!" Ron yelled,swinging the steering wheel around; they missed the dark stone wall by inches as the car turned in a great arc,soaring over the dark greenhouses,then the vegtable patch,and then out over the black lawns,losing altitude all the time.Ron let go of the steering wheel completely and pulled his wand out of his back pocket --- "STOP! STOP!" he yelled,whacking the dashboard and the windshield,**

Remus who had started to pale slightly shook his head and asked "does he really think thats going to work?"

**but they were still plummeting,the ground flying up toward them --- "WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!" Harry bellowed,lunging for the steering wheel,but too late --- CRUNCH.**

James kept reading all though if he got any paler he'd be pure white.Although part of the problem might have been that Lily was clutching his arm so tightly it was very unlikely that there was any blood flow left in hand.

**With an earsplitting bang of metal on wood,they hit the thick tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt.Steam was billowing from under the crumpled hood; Hedwig was shrieking in terror; a golfball-sized lump was throbbing on Harry's head where he hit the winshield;**

Lily made a wimpering sound and James (if it were possible) paled even more.

**to his right,Ron let out a low,despairing groan. "Are you okay?" Harry said urgently.**

**"My wand," said Ron,in a shaky voice. "Look at my wand ---" It had snapped,almost in two; the tip was dangling limply,held on by a few splinters.**

"Ohh,not good," Remus said winching.

**Harry opened his mouth to say he was sure they'd be able to mend it up at the school,but he never even got started.At that very moment,something hit his side of the car with the force of a charging bull,sending him lurching sideways into Ron,just as an equally heavy blow hit the roof.**

Lily who had laid her head down on James's shoulder,sat up straight quickly and once again grabbed James's arm in a vise-like grip.

**"What's happen ---?" **

**Ron gasped,staring through the windshield,and Harry looked around just in time to see a branch as thick as a python smash into it.**

"Oh no," Remus moaned burying his face in his hands.

**The tree they had hit was attacking them.Its trunk was bent almost double,and its gnarled boughs were pummeling every inch of the car it could reach. "Aaargh!" said Ron as another twisted limb punched a large dent into his door; the windshild was now trembling under a hail of blows from the knuckle-like twigs and a branch as thick as a battering ram was pounding furiously on the roof,which seemed to be caving --- **

"Umm,Lily," said James.

"Yeah?"

"Not that I'm not worried too,or anything.But I would like to have some blood back in my hand.I kinda need it ya'know."

She quickly let go of his hand. "Sorry," she muttered.

''Its okay," said James and he went back to reading.

**"Run for it!" Ron shouted,throwing his full weight against his door,but next second he had been knocked backwards into Harry's lap by vicious uppercut from another branch. "We're done for!" **

"Real big optamist,isn't he?" Sirius asked.

**he moaned as the ceiling sagged,but suddenly the floor of the car was vibrating --- the engine had restarted. "**_**Reverse**_**!" Harry yelled,and the car shot backward; the tree was still trying to hit them; they could hear its roots creaking as it almost ripped itself up.Lashing out at them as they sped out of reach. "That," panted Ron, ''was close.Well done,car ---"**

**The car however,had reached the end of its tether.With two sharp clunks,the doors flew open and Harry felt his seat tip sideways: Next thing he knew he was sprawled on the damp ground.Loud thuds told him that the car was ejecting their luggage from the trunk; Hedwigs cage flew through the air and burst open; she rose out of it with an angry screech and sped off toward the castle without a backward look.Then,dented,scratched,and steaming,the car rumbled off into the darkness,its rear lights blazing angirly. "Come back!" Ron yelled after it,brandishing his broken wand. "Dad'll kill me!"**

"Actually kid,I think thats the least of your worries at the moment," Sirius said honestly.

**But the car disappeared from view with one last snort from its exhaust. "Can you **_**believe**_** our luck?" said Ron miserably,bending down to pick up scabbers. "Of all the trees we could've hit,we had to get one that hits back."**

**He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree,which was still flailing its branches threateningly.**

**"Come on," said Harry wearily, ''we'd better get up th the school..."**

**It wasn't at all the triumphant arrival they had pictured.**

"See,you should have thought about that before you took the car," Lily said clearly over her worry now and ready to vent of her frustration.

**Stiff,cold, and bruised, they seized the ends of their trunks and began dragging them up the grassy slope,toward the great oak front doors. "I think the feast's already started," said Ron,dropping his trunk at the foot of the steps and crossing quietly to look through abrightly lit window. "Hey --- Harry --- come and look ---it;s the sorting!'' Harry huried over and,together,he and Ron peered in at the Great Hall.Innumerable candles were hovering in midair over four long,crowded tables,making the golden plates and goblets sparkle.Overhead,the bewitched ceiling,which always mirrored the sky outside,sparkled with stars.Through the forest of pointed black Hogwarts hats,Harry saw a long line of scared-looking first years **

They're always scared looking," Sirius said rolling his eyes.

"At least these first years don't have two students walking around telling them all that they'd have to wrestle the Ginat Squid that lived in the lake to get sorted," said Remus looking pointedly at James and Sirius,who gave him their best inoccnt smiles.

"You know,those smiles don't really work anymore.No one around here would beleive for one second that you two are innocent.

**filing into th Hall.Ginny was among them,easily visible because of her vivid Weasley hair.Meanwhile,Proffessor McGonagall,a bespectled witch with her hair in a tight bun, was placing the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat on a stool before the newcomers.**

"Doesn't sound like Minne's changed all that much," Sirius said grinning, "I though maybe in her older age she'd losen up a little bit."

"You know,I thought she'd losen up a little bit too," Lily said.

"Really?" Remus asked looking at her slightly shocked.

"Of course.I mean after you guys graduate she won't have to chase you around and worry about what you lot are up to.You think that would help her losen up."

Sirius just stuck his tounge out at her.

**Every year,this aged old hat,patched,frayed,and dirty,sorted new students into the four Hogwarts houses (Gryffindor,Hufflepuff,Ravenclaw,and Slytherin).Harry well remembered putting it on,exactly a year ago, and waiting,petrified,for its decision as it muttered aloud in his ear.For a few horrible seconds he feared that the hat was going to put him in Slytherin,**

"It what?" James yelped, "What does he mean it wanted to place him in Slytherin.why would it do that?"

"Um,James," Remus interupted, "you do realise that if you kept reading you would probably find out."

"Oh,right." said James turning slightly pink,

**the house that had turned out more dark witches and wizards thanany other --- but he had ended up in Gryffindor,along with Ron,Hermione,and the rest of the Weasleys.**

"Of course you did,all Potter's go to Gryffindor its in our blood.And besides..."

"James..." Lily moaned.

"Huh? Oh,right."

**Last term,Harry and Ron had helped Gryffindor win the House Championship,beating Slytherin for the first time in seven years.**

"SEVEN YEARS!" Sirius exploded. "How did they win seven years in a row?! Thats just...just...wrong! How did they even..."

"How do we get him to stop?" Lily asked James.

"Simple.Watch. PADFOOT!"

"What?"

"Calm down,its just..."

"But they won _seven_ years in a row._Seven_!"

"The book said Harry and his freinds beat them last year,so they'll probably do it this year too.And if you let me read we'll probably get to read all about how the Slytherins get their butts kicked."

"Well,then what are you waiting for? Keep reading."

"But you just..." Lily spluttered.

"Drop it Lils' hes a hopeless case." James whispered in her ear. She smiled,and James started reading again.

**A very small,mousy-haired boy had been called forward to place the hat on his head.Harry's eyes wandered past him to where Professor Dumbledore,the headmaster,sat watching the sorting from the staff table,his long silver beard and half-moon glasses shining brightly in the candlelight.Several seats along,Harry saw Gilderoy Lockhart,dressed in robes of aqumarine.And there at the end was Hagrid,huge and hairy,drinking deeply from his goblet. "Hang on..." Harry muttered to Ron. "There's an empty chair at the staff table...Where's Snape?" Proffesor Severus Snape was Harry's least favorite teacher.**

"Of course when it came to that,he'd have to be just like his father," Lily muttered.

"And Godfather!" Sirius yelled.

"And godfather," she added rolling her eyes.

**Harry also happened to be Snape's least favorite student.**

"Not surprising," Remus said shaking his head.

**Cruel,sarcastic,and disliked by everybody except the students from his own house (Slytherin),Snape taught Potions. "Maybe he's ill!"**

James opened his mouth.

"James,don't say it," Lily said threatingly, "I know what you were going to say and don't do it."

"what was I going to say?" James asked with raised eyebrows.

"You were going to say. 'I certainly hope.It would sure maks their year alot more pleasent.Without having to see his greasy head lurking around ever coner'."

James looked stunned,but quickly recovered, "For your information I was going to say...umm...that it would be a terrible tragedy,and I...I hope nothing bad happened to him."

"I bet," muttered Lily rolling her eyes.

**said Ron hopefully. "Maybe he's **_**left**_**," said Harry, "because he missed out on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job **_**again**_

**"Or he might have been **_**sacked**_**!" said Ron enthusiastically. "I mean,everyone hates him ---"**

**"Or maybe ," said a very cold voice right behind them, ''he's waiting to see why you two didn't arrive on the school train."**

**Harry spun around.There,his black robes rippling ina cold breeze,stood Severus Snape.**

**He was a thin man with sallow skin,a hooked nose,and greasy shoulder-length black hair,**

"They could have made it more simple than that," Sirius stated.

"What are talking about," Remus asked.

"They could've made it simpler.Just say he was an ugly,creepy looking git," Sirius exlplained, "I mean it basically means the same thing."

**and at this moment,he was smiling in a way that told Harry he and Ron were in very deep trouble. "Follow me," said Snape. Not daring even to look at each other,Harry and Ron followed Snape up the steps into the vast,echoing entrance hall,which was lit with flaming torches.A delicious smell of food was wafting from the Great Hall,but Snape led them away from the warmth and light,down a narrow stone staircase that led into the dungeons.**

**"In!" he said,opening a door halfway down the cold passageway and pointing.They entered Snape's office,shivering.The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars,in which floated all manner of revolting things Harry didn't really want to know the name of at the moment.The fireplpace was dark and empty.Snape closed the door and turned to look at them. "So," he said softly, ''the train isn't good enough for the famous Harry Potter and his faithful sidekick Weasley.**

"Shove off,Snape." Sirius said. "Stupid,ugly git he is any way." he added,muttering this time so Lily couldn't hear.

**Wanted to arrive with a **_**bang**_**,did we boys?" "No,sir,it was the barrier at King's Cross,it ---"**

**"Silence!" said Snape coldly. **

"You could at atleast let them explain!" Lily snapped.

**"What have you done with the car?" Ron gulped.This wasn't the first time Snape had given Harry the impression of being able to read minds.But a moment later,he understood,as Snape unrolled today's issue of the **_**Evening Prophet**_**. "You were seen," he hissed,showing them the headline: FLYING FORD ANGILA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES.**

"Oh,no" they all groaned.

"Why did they have to get caught?" Sirius said.

"Well,they shouldn't have taken the car in the first place,anyway." Lily said. "But unfortantly they seem to take after you lot."

"Not true," James interupted, "we never flew a car to Hogwarts before."

"You know what I mean."

**He began to read aloud: "Two Muggles in London,convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower...at noon in Norfolf,Mrs.Hetty Bayliss,while hanging out her washing...Mr.Angus Fleet,of Peebles,reported to police...six or seven Muggles in all.I believe **_**your**_** father works in the Missuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?" he said,looking up at Ron and smiling more nastily. "Dear,dear...his own son..."**

"Is it just me,or has Snape gotten even nastier?" Sirius asked.

**Harry felt as though he'd just been walloped in the stomach by one of the tree's larger branches.If anyone found out Mr.Weasley had bewitched the car...he hadn't thought of that... "I noticed in my search of the park,that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow," Snape went on. "That tree did more damage to **_**us**_** than we ---" Ron blurted out. "**_**Silence**_**!" snapped Snape again.**

Oh,for crying out loud!" Lily cried, "Let them talk!"

**"Most unfortunatley,you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me.I shall go and fetch the pepole who **_**do **_**have that happy power.You will wait here." Harry and Ron stared at each other,white-faced.Harry didn't feel hungry any more.He now felt extremely sick.He tried not to look at a large,slimy something suspended in a green liquid on a shelf behind Snape's desk.If Snape had gone to fetch Professor Mcgonagall,head of Gryffindor House,they were hardly any better off.She might be fairer than Snape,but she was still extremely strict.**

"I repeat,she needs to losed up," Sirius added. "I tried telling her that once.Didn't turn out to well."

**Ten minutes later,Snape returned,and sure enough it was Proffesor McGonagall who accompained him.Harry had seen Professor McGonagall angry on several occasions,but either he had forgotten just how thin her mouth could go,or he never seen her this angry before.**

"We probably have," Sirius commented.

"Thats a safe bet," Lily added.

**She raised her wand the moment she entered; Harry and Ron both flinched,but she merely pointed it at the empty fireplace,where flames suddenly erupted. "Sit," she said,and they both backed into chairs by the fire. "Explain," she said,her glasses glinting ominously.Ron launched into the story,starting with the barrier at the station refusing to let them through. " --- so we had no choice,Professor,we couldn't get on the train."**

**"Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe **_**you**_** have an owl?" Professor McGonagall coldly to Harry.Harry gaped at her.Now she said it,that seemed the obvious thing to have done. **

"Now he thinks about!" Lily cried. "If he had just thought about it eailer,they wouldn't be in this mess now!"

**"I --- I didn't think ---"**

**"That," said Professor McGonagall, " is obvious." There was knock on the door and Snape,looking happier than ever,**

"You know," said Sirius,scowling at the book, "I really like to kick him,just once.Just _once._

**opened it.There stood the headmaster,Professor Dumbledore.Harry whole body went numb.Dumbledore was looking unusually grave.He stared down his very crooked nose at them,and Harry suddenly found himself wishing he and Ron were still being beat up by the Whomping Willow.There was a long silence.Then Dumbledore said, ''Please explain why you did this."**

**It would have been better if he had shouted.Harry hated the dissapiontment in his voice.For some reason,he was unable to look Dumledore in the eyes,and spoke instead to his knees.He told Dumbledore everything except that Mr.Weasley owned the bewitched car,making it sound as tough he and Ron had happened to find a flying car parked outside the station.**

"Very believable," Remus said sarcasticly.

"You know,in some ways he a true maurader,but theres some things he needs to learn yet." Sirius added.

**He knew Dumbledore would see through this at once,but Dumbledore asked no questions about the car.When Harry had finshed,he merely continued to peer at them through his spectacles. "We'll go get our stuff," said Ron in a hopless sort of voice.**

**"What are you talking about Mr.Weasley?" barked Professor McGonagall. "Well,you're expelling us,aren't you?" said Ron.Harry looked quickly at Dumbldore. "Not today,Mr.Weasley," said Dumbledore.**

"YES! James said.High-fiving Sirius.Lily and Remus looked at each other and rolled thier eyes even though they were just as happy Harry and Ron wouldn't be expeled.

**"But I must impress upon both of you the seriousness of what.I will be wrighting to your familes tonight.I must also warn you that if you ever do anythig like this again,I will have no choice to expel you." Snape looked as though Christmas had been canceled.He cleared his throat and said, "Professor Dumbledore,these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry,caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree --- surely acts of this nature ---"**

"Oh,just shut up Snape, you big old bat," surprising it was Lily who said this.The three mauraders looked at her as if she had just sprouted an extra head. "What?" she asked.

"Umm,Lily," James said still a little shocked, "Since when to you insult Snape?"

"Since he's trying to get my son expeled."

He looked at her a moment, "I love you,you know that," he said kissing her.

She rolled her eyes,but she was still smiling.

**"It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on these boys' punishments,Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "They are in her House and therefor her reponsibility." He turned to Professor McGonagall. "I must go back to the feast,Minerva,I've got to give out a few a delicous-looking custard tart I want to sample ---"**

**Snape shot a look of pure venom at Harry and Ron as he allowed himself to be swept out of his office,leaving them alone with Professor McGonagall,who was still eyeing them like a warthful eagle. "You'd better get to the hospital wing,Weasley,you're bleeding." "Not much," said Ron,hastily wiping the cut over his eye with his sleeve. "professor,I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted ---" "The Sorting Ceremony is over," said Professor McGonagall. "You're sister is also in Gryffindor."**

**"Oh,good," said Ron. "And speaking of Gryffindor ---" Professor McGonagall said sharply,but Harry cut in:**

"Is he crazy," Sirius yelped, "You never interupt McGonagall.She hates it and it just makes her madder.

"Let me guess,you know this from personal experiance," said Lily.

"Yeah," said Sirius.

"When did you try to interupt McGon ----"

"Don't ask," Sirius said with a shiver.

**"Professor,when we took the car,term hadn't started, so --- so Gryffindor shouldn't really have points taken from it --- should it?" he finshed,watching her anxiously.Professor McGonagall gave him piercing look,but he was sure had almost smiled.Her mouth looked less thin,anyway. "I will not take any points from Gryffindor," she said,**

"Unbelievable!" Sirius cried, "how is that when I tried to interupt McGonagall she just started screaming louder and gave me detetion.But when he did it she let him off the hook?''

"Simple,Padfoot.Unlike you my son is a genious." James answered smiling.

Sirius glared. "Shut up,Prongs."

**and Harry's heart lightened considerably. "But you will both get a detention." It was better than Harry had expected.As for the Dumbledore writing the to the Dursleys,that was nothing.Harry knew perfectly well they'd be dissapointed that the Whomping Willow hadn't squashed him flat.**

James growled at the book.And Lily looked as if she would like nothing better than to go and strangle her sister.

**Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk.A large plate of sandwiches,two silver goblets,and a juice of iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop. "You will eat in here and then go straight up to your domitory," she said. "I must also return to the feast." When the door had closed behind her,Ron let out a long,low whistle. "I thought we'd had it," he said grabbing a sandwich. "So did I," said Harry,taking one too. "Can you beleive our luck, though?" said Ron thickly through a mouthful of chicken and ham. "Fred and George must've flown that car five or six times and no Muggle ever saw **_**them**_**." He swallowed and took another bite. "**_**Why**_** couldn't we get through the barrier?" Harry shruged. "We'll have to watch our step from now on,though," he said, taking a greatful swig up pumpking juice. "Wish we could've gone up tot the feast..." "She didn't want us showing off," said Ron sagely. "Doesn't want pepole to think it's clever,arriving by flying car."**

"MaGonagalls like that now,too." Sirius said. "Its a shame she never learned how to losen up." Sirius said shaking his head.

**When they had eaten as many sandwiches as they could (the plate kept refilling itself) they rose and they left the office,treading the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower.The castle was quiet; it seemed that the feast was over.They walked past muttering portraits and creaking suits of armor,and climbed narrow flight of stone stairs,untill at last they reached the passage where the secret entrance to Gryffindor Tower was hidden,behind an oil painting of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. "Password?" she said as they approached. "Er ---" said Harry.They didn't know the new year's password,not having met a Gryffindor prefect yet,but help came almost immediatley; they heard hurrying feet behind them and turned to see Hermione dashing toward them. **

"And Hermione saves the day!" Sirius said.

**"**_**There**_** you are! Where have you **_**been**_**? The most **_**ridiculous **_**rumors --- someone siad you'd been expelled for crashing a flying **_**car **_**---" **

"Close," Remus said nodding his head, "very close."

**"Well,we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her. "You're not telling me you **_**did**_** fly here?" said Hermione,sounding almost as severe as Professor McGonagall. "Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password." "It's 'Wattlebird'," said Hermione impaitently, ''but that's not the point ---"**

**Her words were cut short,however,as the portrait of the fat lady swung open and there was a sudden storm of clapping.It looked as though the whole of Gryffindor House was still awake,packed into the circular common room,standing on the lopsided tables and squashy armchairs,waiting for them to arrive.Arms reached through the portrait hole to pull Harry and Ron inside,leaving Hermione to scramble in after them. "Brilliant!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, pepole'll be talking about that one for years ---" **

"See I told you,they'll go down in history!" Sirius cried.Lily just rolled her eyes,she realised that no matter what she said she'd never get through to him.

**"Good for you," said a fifth year Harry had never spoken to' someone was patting him on the back as though he'd just won a marathon; Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crowd and said together, ''Why couldn't we've come in the car,eh?" Ron was scarlet in the face,grinning embarrassedly,but Harry could see one person who didn't look happy at all.Percy was visible over the heads of some excited first years,**

"Spoilsport," Sirius muttered.

**and he seemed to be trying to get near enough to start telling them off.Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and nodded in Percy's direction.Ron got the point at once. "Got to get upstairs --- bit tired," he said,and the two of them started pushing thier way toward the door on the other side of the room,which led to a spiral staircase and the dormitories. "Night," Harry called back to Hermione,who was wearing a scowl just like Percy's.**

"She needs to losen up a little bit too," Sirius said.

**They managed to get to the other side of the common room,still having their backs slapped,and gained the peace of the staircase.They hurried up it,right to the top,and at last.They hurried up it,right to the top,and at last reached the door of their old dormitory,which now had a sign on it saying ****Second Years****.They entered the familiar,circular room,with its high,narrow windows.Their trunks had been brought up for them and stood at the ends of their beds.Ron grinned guiltily at Harry.**

**"I know I shouldn't have enjoyed that or anything,but ---" The dormitory door flew open and in came the other second year Gryffindor boys, Seamus Finnigan,Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. "**_**Unbelievable**_**!" beamed Seamus. "Cool," said Dean. "Amazing," said Neville,awestruck.Harry couldn't help it.He grinned,too.**

Lily groaned and rested her head on the plam of her hand.

James just smiled, "Who wants to read the book next?"

"Me!" said Sirius catching the book as James threw it too him.

Remus ginned and opened his mouth;without even looking up from the book Sirius said "shut up ,Moony."

_Woo-hoo! I finshed! Anyway,enough of that,I hope youl liked the chapter and once again I'm REALLY SORRY for the long update.Next time I'll be quicker.And finally I have just one thing to say...Please review!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the long update.It would have been up sooner,but the modem on my computer blew up and I was without internet for week and half.Anyway,two more things before the next chapter._

_**Disclaimer: I don't own.**_

_And last,but not least,a thanks to all my reviewers:EmeraldFire512,lily-potterKOOL,PrettyFanGirl,and lady clark of books._

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**Gilderoy Lockhart**

**The next day,however,Harry barely grinned once.Things started to go downhill from breakfast in the Great Hall.**

"Really?" Sirius asked. "Usually we don't have any trouble until about lunch.About that time we usually have detention from McGonagall,but never during breakfast."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Lily asked shaking her head,but if you looked close you could see a small smile on her face.

**The four long house tables were laden with tureens of porridge,plates of kippers,mountains of toast and dishes of eggs and bacon,beneath the enchanted ceiling (today,a dull,cloudy gray).Harry and Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Hermione,who had her copy of **_**Voyages with Vampires**_** propped open against a milk jug.There was a slight stiffness in the way she said ''Morning'' which told Harry that she was still disapproving of the way they had arrived.**

"Loosen up,woman!" Sirius cried exasperatedly. "Your friends with a marauder for crying out loud!"

"Sirius I already told you,you aren't corrupting my son." Lily told him treatingly.

Sirius opened his mouth to retort,but James stopped him, ''Sirius don't.If you want to get through this chapter,don't say it."

**Neville Longbottom,on the other hand,greeted them cheerfully.Neville was a round-faced and accident-prone boy with the worst memory of anyone Harry had ever met.**

"Thats weird," James interupted, "That doesn't sound like Frank at all.Well,except for the bad memory hes always forgetting things.But other than that he doesn't sound anything like Frank."

"Well,we never said it was Frank's son." Remus reasoned, "just said it might be.Besides he could still be related to Frank,even if hes not Franks son."

**"Post's due any minute - I think Gran's sending on a few things I forgot."**

"Now that sounds like Frank." Sirius said nodding his head.

**Harry had only just started his porridge when,sure enough,there was a rushing sound overhead and a hundred or so owls streamed in,circling the Hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd.A big lumpy parcel bounced of Neville's head,and a second later,something large and gray fell into Hermione's jug,spraying them all with milk and feathers. "Errol!" said Ron,pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet.Errol slumped,unconcious,onto the table,his legs in the air a damp red envelope in his beak. **

''Howler,worst thing in the world." Sirius said.

"Thats only because you've had so many of them." LIly pointed out.

''We don't get that many," James said with a wave of his hand.

"Remus?" Lily prompted.

"324." he answered instantly, "that I know of.I was in the Hospital Wing some mornings."

"You counted?" Sirius asked increduasly.

"Of course," Remus said smiling, "ever since second year me and a few other Gryffindor's have a bet going that you'll make 500 before you graduate."

"I can't beleive it." James said his eyes wide, "betrayed by our fellow Gryffindors.

"So its kinda like the bet we had going till this summer that prongs and lily would get together?" Sirius asked.

"You were betting on us?" James and Lily asked at the same time.

"Not just us," Remus answered, ''all of the Gryffindors,Hufflepuffs,Ravenclaws,and half of the Slytherins."

**"Oh no -" Ron gasped. "Its alright,he's alive," said Hermione,prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger. "It's not that - it's that." Ron was pointing at the read envelope.It looked quite ordinary to Harry,but Ron and Neville were both looking at it as though they expected it to explode. What's the matter?" said Harry. "She's - she's sent me a Howler," said Ron faintly. "You'd better open it,Ron," said Neville,in a timid whisper. "It'll be worse if you don't.My Gran sent me one once,and I ignored it and -" he gulped, ''It was horrible."**

"I wonder what does happen if you ignore a Howler." Lily said.

"It starts smoking," James said.

"Then when it starts talking,the sound is magnified to ten times as loud as it would have been," Sirius added.

"And then when its done it explodes in your face," said James.

"And when it does that it'll usualy cinge your hair," Siruis concluded.

"How do you kn-" Lily started,but stopped "never mind,for a minute there I forgot who I was talking to."

**Harry looked from their petrified faces to the red envelope. "What's a Howler?" he said.But Ron's whole attention was fixed on the letter,which had begun to smoke at the corners. "Open it," Neville urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes..." Ron streched out a shaking hand,eased the envelope from Errol's beak and slit it open.Neville stuffed his finger in his ears.A split second later,Harry knew why.He thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound filled the huge Hall,shaking dust from the ceiling. **

**"...STEALING THE CAR,I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU,**

"Oh, I've heard that one before," Sirius cried, ''except for the stealing the car part."

"Same here." James added.

**I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT TROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT HAD GONE..."**

**Mrs.Weasley's yells,a hundred time louder than usual,made the plates and spoons rattle on the table,and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls.People throughout the Hall were swiveling around to see who had received the Howler and Ron sank so low in his chair that only crimson forehead could be seen.**

**"...LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT,I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME,WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS,**

"Heard that to,"Sirius and James said in unsion.

LIly and remus both rolled thier eyes.

**"YOU AND HARRY COULD HAVE DIED..."**

**Harry had been wondering when his name was going to crop up.He tried very hard to look as though he couldn't hear the voice that was making his eardrums throb.**

"Good luck," Remus muttered sarcasticly.

**"...ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED,**

"Heard it," the two mauraders said again.

**YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK,IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."**

"Hea-" They started again.

"We know," LIly said before they could finish, "it might be a good idea to point out things you _haven't _heard."

**A ringing silence fell.The red envelope,which had dropped from Ron's hand,had burst into flames and curled into ashes.Harry and Ron sat stunned,as though a tidal wave had just passed over them.A few people laughed and gradually,a babble of talk broke out again.Hermione closed **_**Voyages with Vampires **_** and looked down at the top of Ron's head. "Well,I don't know what you expected,Ron,but you -" "Don't tell me I deserved it," snapped Ron.Harry pushed his porridge away.His insides were burning with quilt.Mr.Weasley was facing an inquiry at work.After all Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had done for him over the summer...**

"Well,at least he realises what he did was wrong," Lily sighed, ''I suppose thats better than nothing.But it would have been better if he hadn't done anything wrong in the first place,but of course he had to take after his father."

James smiled. ''Potter blood will-out!'' He said.

"Oh,shut up," Lily said wacking him on the arm,but she had a smile on her face.

**But he had no time to dwell on this;Professor McGonagall was moving along the Gryffindor table,handing out timetables.Harry took his,and saw that they had double Herbology with the Hufflespuffs first.Harry ,Ron and Hermione left the castle together,crossed the vegtable patch and made for the greenhouses,where the magical plants were kept.At least the Howler did one good thing: Hermione now seemed to think they had been punished enough and was perfectly friendly again.As they neared the greenhouses they saw the rest of the class standing outside,waiting for Professor Sprout.Harry,Ron and Hermione had only just joined them when she came striding into view across the lawn,accompanied by Gilderoy Lockhart.**

"Joy," Sirius said sarcasticly, ''They're day is just about to get worse."

**Professor Sprout's arms were full of bandages,and with another teinge of guilt,Harry spotted the Whomping Willow in the distance,several of its branches now in sling.**

"See? You could have avoided that,if you hadn't flown the car,and just sent an owl to the school.But no,you just had to fly the car..." Lily muttered to no one in particular.

James watched,with a worried look on his face,wondering if she was still sane.

**Professor Sprout was a squat little witch who wore a patched hat over her flyaway hair; there was usually a large amount of earth on her clothes,and her fingernails would have made Aunt Petunia faint.**

"Hmm," Sirius said, ''Now that gives me an idea." he pulled out a peice of parchment and started writing quickly.Lily leaned over and whispered in his ear,and smile strated to creep across his face. ''Thats good.I love that." He started write faster, ''You know James," he said without looking up from his parchment, "I wish you two had gotten together years ago,she has great ideas."

**Gilderoy Lockhart,however,was immaculate in sweeping robes of turquoise,his golden hair shining under a perfectly positioned turquoise hat with gold trimmings. "Oh,hello there!" Lockhart called,beaming around at the assembled students. ''Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is.**

"What a creep,how can any one be so self-centered?" Sirius said.

**I just happened to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..."**

**"Greenhouse Three today chaps!" said Professor Sprout,who was looking distinctly disgruntled,not at all her usual cheerful self.**

"Gee,I wonder why?" Remus muttered sarcasticly.

**There was a murmur of interest.They had only ever worked in Greenhouse Onw before - Greenhouse Three housed far more interesting and dangerous plants.Professor Sprout took a large key from her belt and unlocked the door.Harry caught a whiff of damp earth and fertilizer,mingled with the heavy perfume of some giant,Umbrella-sized flowers dangling from the ceiling.He was about to follow Ron and Hermione when Lockhart's hand shot out. "Harry! I've been wanting a word**

"Lockhart if you don't get away from mys on right now,I'll come back from the grave and haunt you the rest of your life." James said in a deadly calm voice.

**- you don't mind if he's a couple of mintues late,do you,Professor Sprout?" Judging by Professor Sprout's scowl,she did mind,bu t Lockhart said, ''Thars the ticket," and closed the greenhouse door in her face. "Harry," said Lockahrt,his large white teeth gleaming in the sunlight as he shook his head. ''Harry,Harry,Harry." Completley nonpulssed,Harry said nothing. "When I heard - well,of course,it was all my have kicked myself." **

"What the heck is that moron talking about?" asked Remus.

"I don't know,but I wish he'd kicked himself anyway," James answered.

**Harry had no idea what he was talking about.He was about to say so when Lockhart went on, ''Don't kno when I've been more shocked.Flying a car to Hogwarts! Well,of course,I knew at once why you'd done it.Stood out a mile.Harry,Harry,Harry." It was amazing how he could show every one of those brilliant white teeth when he wasn't talking.**

"Wonder how many he could show,if I put a permenant sticking charm on his mouth," Sirius muttered to himself.

**"Gave you taste for publicity,didn't I?" said Lockhart. "Gave you the bug.You got onto the from the page of the paper with me and you couldn't wait to do it again."**

"Why he's such a - " Lily started to say.

"Lily langauge." James said smiling.

**"Oh - no,Professor ,see -"**

**''Harry,Harry,Harry," said Lockhart,reaching out and grasping his shoulder. "I understand.Natural to want a bit more once you've had the first taste**

"What a - "

"James,langauge." Lily said teasingly.

James stopped and looked surprised for a moment before smiling and kissing her on the cheek.

**- and I blame myself for giving you that,**

"You know what,you're right, "Sirius said, "it's all your fault.Every bit of it.You should go straight to Dumbledore and resign."

**because it was bound to go to your head -**

**but see here,young,man,you can't start flying cars to try and get yourself noticed.Just calm down,all right? Plenty of time for all that when you're older.Yes,yes,I know what you're thinking! **

"So do I," Sirius said, ''he's thinking 'Why me? Why did I have to get such a self-centered,popous,idiotic teacher?' "

**'It's all right for him,he's an internationally famous wizard already!' But when I was twelve,I was as a nobody as you are now.In fact,I'd say I was even more of a nobody! I mean,a few people have heard of you,haven't they? All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!'' He glanced at the lightening scar on Harry's forehead. "I know,it's not quite as good as winning Which Weekly's Most-Charming Smile Award five times in a row,as I have - but it's a start,Harry,it's a start." **

"Why what a - he's such a - how can anyone be such a-" Lily spluttered.

"Jerk? Idiot? Creep? Moron? Stop me when I get it right." said James.

"You already got it right.He's all those things and then some," she answered.

**He gave Harry a wink and strode off.Harry stood stunned for a few seconds,then remembering he was supposed to be in the greenhouse,he opened the door and slide inside.Professor Sprout was standing behind a trestle bench in the center of the greenhouse.About twenty pairs of different-colored earmuffs were lying on the bench.When Harry had taken his place between Ron and Hermione,she said, ''We'll be repotting Mandrakes today.**

Remus grimanced. "I hated doing those,I had my earmuffs on but because of my hearing it still knocked me out.I was out for most of the day."

**Now,who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" To nobody's surprise,Hermione's hand was first into the hand was first intot the air. "Mandrake or Mandragora,is a powerful restorative," said Hermione,sounding as usual as though she had swallowed the textbook.**

"Like Moony!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus rolled his eyes but he was smiling.

**''It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their orginal state." **

**"Excellent.Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes.It is also,however,dangerous.Who can tell me why?" Hermione's hand narrowly missed Harry's glasses as it shot up again. "The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," she said promptly. "Precisely.Take another ten points," said Professor Sprout. ''Now,the Mandrakes we have here are still very young." She pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke and everyone shuffled forward for a better look.A hundred or so tufty little plants,purplish green color,were grwoing in rows.They looked quite unremarkable to Harry,who didn't have the slightest idea what Hermione meant by the 'cry' of the Mandrake. "Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," said Professor Sprout.There was a scramble as everyone tried to seize a pair that wasn't pink and fluffy. ''When I tell to put them on,make sure your ears are completely covered," said Professor Sprout. **

"Remember that Hufflepuff,that didn't put his on right?" Lily asked.

"Actually,it wasn't because he didn't get his earmuffs on right." Sirius said smirking.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"Well,he was making fun of Pete eailer for messing up in potions," Remus explained.

"So we planed a little...payback" James said smirking.

"What did you...No never mind!I don't want to know!" Lily said holding up her hands.

**''When it is safe to remove them,I will give you the thumbs-up.Right - earmuffs on." Harry snapped the earmuffs over his ears.They shut out sound completely.Professir Sprout put a pink fluffy pair over her own ears,rolled up the sleeves of her robes,grasped one of the tufty plants firmly,and pulled hard.Harry let out a gasp of surpise that no one could hear.Instead of roots,a small,muddy and extremely ugly baby popped out of the earth.The leaves were growing right out of the top of his head.He had pale green,mottled skin,and was clearly bawling at the top of his legs.Professor Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the Mandrake into it,burying him in the dark,damp compost until only the tufted leaves were visible.Professor Sprout off her her hands,gave them all the thumbs-up and removed her own earmuffs. "As our Mandrakes are only seedlings,their cries won't kill yet," she said calmly,as though she'd done nothing more than water a begonia. "However,they will knock you out for several hours,and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back,**

"Depends," Sirius said, "if they have to deal with Snape today,then they would probably want to miss it."

"Sirius..." Lily said threatingly.

"What? You were insulting him ealier." Sirius protested.

"Because he was trying to expel my son!" She explained. "He hasn't done anything yet,so leave him alone."

"Yet," Sirus muttered.

"What'd you say Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," he answered quickly, ''Nothing at all."

He quickly threw a glare towards James and Remus who shaking in silent laughter.

**make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work.I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. "Four to a tray - there is a large supply of pots here - compost in the sacks over there - and be careful of the Venomous Tentacular,it's teething." She gave a sharp slap to a spiky,dark red plant as she spoke,making it draw in the long feelers that had been inching sneakily over her shoulder.Harry Ron and Hermione were joined at their tray by a curly-haired Hufflepuff boy Harry knew by sight,but had never spoken to. "Justin Flinch-Fletchley," he said brightly,shaking Harry by the hand. "Know who you are of course,the famous Harry Potter...**

James and Lily smiled proudly.

**and your Hermione Granger - always top in everything top in everything..." (Hermione beamed as she had her hand shaken,too) ''and Ron Weasley.Wasn't that your flying car?" Ron didn't smile.The Howler was still on his mind.**

"The first one is always the worst," Sirius said. ''But once you've gotten at least ten,they don't bother you anymore."

Lily opened her mouth to argue,but instead shook her head and rolled her eyes.

**"That Lockhart's something,isn't he?"**

"He's something alright," James said, ''We're just not sure what yet."

**said Justin happily,as they began filling their plant pots with dragon-dung compost. ''Awfully brave chap.Have you read his books? I'd have died of fear if I'd been cornered in a telephone box by a werewolf,**

Remus muttered something the others couldn't hear.

Don't worry about it Rem. it's probably all lies anyway," James said.

Yeah,you're right," he agreed.

**but he stayed cool and - zap - just fantastic.My name was down for Eton,you know,I can't tell you how glad I am I came here instead.Of course,my mother was slightly dissappointed,but she's begun to see how useful it'll be to have a fully trained wizard in the family..." After that they didn't have much chance to talk.Their earmuffs were back on and they needed to concentrate on the Mandrakes.Professor Sprout had made it look extremely easy,but it wasn't.The Mandrakes didn't like coming out of the earth,but they didn't seem to want to go back in either.They squirmed,kicked,flailed their sharp little fists and gnashed their teeth; Harry spent ten whole minutes trying to squash a particularly fat one into a pot.By the end of class,Harry,like everyone else,was sweaty,aching and covered in earth.**

"I hated doing Mandrakes," Sirius commented,wrinkling his nose.

**They traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Gryffindors hurried off to Transfiguration.Professor McGonagall's classes were always hard work,but today was especially difficult.Everything Harry had learned last year seemed to have leaked out of his head during the summer.**

"That's what Padfoot tell McGonagall eveytime she asks him to remember something she tought last year." Remus said smirking.

"She hates it when I say it too," Sirius said smirking as well.

**He was supposed to be turning a beetle into a button,but all he managed to do was give the beetle a lot of exercise as it scuttled over the desk top avoiding his wand.Ron was having worse problems.He had patched up his wand with some borrowed Spellotape,but it seemed to be damaged beyond repair.It kept crackling and sparking at odd moments,and every time Ron tried to transfigure his beetle it engulfed him in a thick gray smoke which smelled of rotten eggs.**

"Ewwww," everyone said.

**Unable to se what he was doing,Ron accidentally sqaushed his beetle with his elbow and had to ask for a new one.Professor McGonagall wasn't pleased.**

"Never a good sight," Sirius commented.

**Harry was relieved to hear the lunch bell.His brain felt like a wrung spounge.Everyone filed out of the classroom except him and Ron,who was whacking his wand furiously on the desk. ''Stupid...useless...thing..." **

**"Write home for another one," Harry suggested,as the wand let of a volley of bangs like a firecracker. "Oh yeah,and get another Howler back," said Ron now stuffing the now hissing wand into his bag. ''It's your own fault your wand got snapped -" **

"He has a point,but he should still ask for a new one," Remus said.

**They went down to lunch,where Ron's mood was not improved by Hermione showing them the handful of perfect coat buttons she had produced in Transfiguration. "What've we got this afternoon?" said Harry,hastily changing the subject. "Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione at once. "Why?" demanded Ron,seizing her timetable, ''hvar you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?" Hermione snatched the timetable back,flushing furiously.They finished lunch and went outside into the overcast courtyard.Hermione sat down on a stone step and burried her nose in **_**Voyages with Vampires**_** again.**

"She reads too much," Sirius said.

"Padfoot,compared to you,everyone reads too much," Remus said.

Sirius stuck out his tounge.

''Keep making that face,Padfoot and it'll be stuck that way," Remus said.Then he laughed when Sirius quickly pulled his tounge back in.

**Harry and Ron stood talking about Quidditch for several minutes before Harry bacame aware that he was being closely watched.Looking up,he saw the very small mousy-haired boy he'd seen trying on the sorting hat last night,staring at Harry as though transfixed.He was clutching what looked like an ordinary Muggle camera,and the moment Harry looked at him,he went bright red. "All right,Harry?" I'm - I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly,taking a tentative step forward. ''I'm in Gryffindor,too.D'you think - would it be all right if - can I have a picture?" he said,raising the camera hopefully.**

"Aww,thats kinda cute," Lily said, ''He looks up to Harry."

**"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.**

**"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly,edging further forwards. ''I know all about you.Everyone's told me.About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead" (his eyes raked Harry's hairline), ''and a boy in my dormitory said if I develope the film in the right potion,the pictures'll move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's brilliant here,isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts.My dad's a milkman,he couldn't believe it either.So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him.And it'd be really good if I had one of you - " he looked imploringly at Harry," - maybe your freind could take it and I could stand next to you? And then,could you sign it?"**

**"Signed photos?You're giving out signed photos,Potter?" Loud and scathing,Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard.**

"Turn him into a ferret," Sirius said eyes narrowing. ''suppose it wouldn't do much good though,he probably looks too much like a ferret already."

**He had stopped right behind Colin,flanked,as he always was at Hogwarts,by his large and thuggish cronies,Crabbe and Goyle. "Everyone line up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd. ''Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!'' "No,I'm not," said Harry angrily,his fists clenching. ''Shut up,Malfoy." "You're just jealous," piped Colin,**

"Hah! Take that Malfoy!" James said smiling.

**whose entire body was about as thick as Crabbe's neck. "Jealous?" said Malfoy,who didn't need to shout anymore;half the courtyard was listening in. "Of what? I don't want a foul right across my head,thanks.I don't think getting your head cut open mkaes you that special,myself." Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering stupidly.**

"Why you --- you," LIly was so angry she couldn't finsh her sentance.

"Foul,evil,loasome,little cockroach?" Sirius asked.(A/N third harry potter movie.It's my favorite line.)

''Exactly." Lily agreed nodding her head.

**"Eat slugs,Malfoy," said Ron angrily.**

"Go Ron!" Sirius cheered.

**Crabbe stopped laughing and started rubbing his conker-like knuckles in a menacing way. "Be careful,Weasley," sneered Malfoy. ''You don't want to start any trouble or your mummy'll have to some and take you away from school." He put on a shrill,piercing vocie. ''If you put another toe out of line -" A knot of Slytherin fifth-years nearby laughed loudly at this. "Weasley would like a signed photo,Potter," smirked Malfoy. ''It'd be worth more than his family's whole house." **

"Ok,forget the ferret,turn him into a bug and then step on him," said Siruis.

**Ron whipped out his Spellotaped wand,but Hermione shut **_**Voyages with Vampires**_** with a snap and whispered, ''Look out!" "What's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding towards them,**

"Oh,no!" they all cried.

"Why did Dubledore have to hire this idiot?" Remus asked. ''Has he lost it?"

''Well,he did hire Snape didn't he?" Sirius said,then realising he said this in fornt of Lily he glanced over at her.Lucky for him,She was too angry at Malfoy to yell at him.

**his turquoise robes swirling nehind him. ''Who's giving out signed photos?" Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders and thundered jovially, ''Shouldn't have asked! We meet again,Harry!'' **

"What a idiotic,moronic,self-centered,egotistcal,big-headed,creep!" Lily yelled.

James looked at her as though considering whether or not to take her to Madam Pomfery.

**Pinned to Lockhart's side and burning with humiliation,Harry saw Malfoy slide smirking back into the crowd. "Come on then,Mr.Creevey," said Lockhart beaming at Colin. "A double portrait,can't say fairer than that,and we'll both sign it for you." Colin fumbled for his camera and took the picture as the bell rang behind them,signaling the start of afternoon classes. "off you go,move along there," Lockhart called to the crowd,and he set off back to ths castle with Harry,who was wishing he knew a good vanishing spell,still clasped to his side. "A word to the wise,Harry," said Lockhart paternally as they entered the building through a side door. "I covered up for you back there with young Creevey**

"Oh yeah right," Sirius said rolling his eyes. ''Thanks so much,for the help," he added his voice dripping with sarcasim.

**- if he was photographing me,too,your schoolfellows won't think you're setting yourself up so much..." Deaf to Harry's stammers,Lockhart swept him down a corridor lined with staring students and up a staircase. ''Let me just say that handing out signed pictures at this stage of your carrer isn't sensible - looks a tad bigheaded,Harry,to frank.**

"Look who's talking!'' Remus cried.

**There may well come a time when,like me,you'll need to keep a stack handy wherever you go,but -" he gave a little chortle, ''I don't think you're quite there yet." They had reached Lockhart's classroom and he let Harry go at last.Harry yanked his robes straight and headed for a seat at the very back of the class,where he busied himelf piling all seven of Lockhart's books in front of him,so he could avoid looking at the same thing.**

"Smart",James agreed.

**The rest of the class came in adn Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of Harry. "You could've fried an egg on your face," said Ron. "You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny,they'll be starting a Harry Potter fan club."**

**"Shut up," snapped Harry.The last thing he needed was for Lockhart to hear the phrase 'Harry Potter fan club.' When the whole class was seated,Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and scilence fell.He reached forward,picked up Neville Longbotom's copy of **_**Travels with Trolls**_** and held it up to show his own.winking portrait on the front. ''Me," he said pointing at it **

"Congradulations,Lockhart!" Sirius said, "probably the only thing you'll ever get right."

**and winking as well,Gilderoy Lockhart,Order of Merlin,Third Class,Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense leauge and five times winner of Which Weekley's Most-Charming Smile Award - but I don't talk about that.I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"**

"Probably didn't get rid of her at all,"Remus muttered.

**He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly. "I see you've all bought a complete set of my books - well done.I thought we'd start today with a little quiz.Nothing to worry about - just to check how well you've read them,how much you've taken in..."**

**When he handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, ''You have thirty minutes.Start - now!'' Harry looked down at his paper and read:**

**1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?**

"Don't care," Sirius answered.

**2.What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?**

"If you say,then it won't be a secret." Sirius answered again.

**3.What,in your opinion,is Gilderoy Lockharts's greatest achievement to date?**

"Being the biggest git of all time," said Sirius.

**On and on it went,over three sides of paper,right down to:**

**54.When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday,and what would his ideal gift be?**

"April Fools Day.Because he's nothing but a big joke.And his ideal gift,would be a good hit upside the head.Because if he was lucky it'd knock some sense into his head.And he could sure use some.'' Sirius said.

**Half an hour later,Lockhart collected in the papers and rifled through them in front of the class. "Tut,tut - hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac.I say so in **_**Year with a Yeti.**_** And a few of you need to read **_**Wanderings with Werewolves**_** more carefully - I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples - though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey!'' He gave them another roguish wink.Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face;**

**Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas,who were sitting in front,were shaking with silent laughter.**

"See," Sirius interupted, ''Even they agree that he's a big joke.

**Hermione,on the other hand,was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention,and gave a start when he mentioned her name. ''...but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world if evil and market my own range of hair-care potions - good girl! In fact -" he slipped her paper over, ''full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?" Hermione raised a trembling hand. **

**"Excellent!'' beamed Lockhart. ''Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so,to bussiness..." **

"You mean he actully planned a lesson?" Remus asked with a shcocked expression.

"Doubt it," Sirius said, ''it's probably how to manage those bad hair days.Very dangerious you know."

**He bent down behind his desk snd lifted a large,covered cage onto it. ''Now - be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You may be facing your worst fears in this room.Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here.All I ask is that you ramain calm." In spite of himself,Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at his cage.Lockhart placed a hand on the cover.Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now.Neville was cowering in his front-row seat. "I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. ''It might provoke them." As the class held their breath,Lockhart whipped off the cover. ''Yes," he said dramatically. ''Freshly caught Cornish pixies."**

They all stared at the book,blinked,and then burst out laughing.

"He-he-he," Sirius couldn't talk for laughing, ''He's got to be kidding!"

''Some how,being thats it's Lockhart,I doubt that," James said trying stop laughing.

''Well,actully when you think of who it is,Pixies are probably really dangerous for him," Remus added.

**Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself.He let out a snort of laughter which even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror. "Yes?" he smiled at Seamus. "Well,they're not,they're not very - dangerous are they?" Seamus chocked. "Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart,waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. "devilish tricky little blighters they can be!" The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high,with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing.The moment the cover had been removed,they had started jabbering and rocketing around,rattling the bars and pulling bizarre at the people nearest them. ''Right then," said Lockhart loudly. ''Let's see what you make of them!'' And he opened the cage.**

"He what?" Lily asked rasing her eyebrows.

"What an idiot,thats really going to help them learn how to handle pixies." Remus said.

" Well,look who's teaching them," Sirius pointed out.

''True."

**It was pandemonium.Two of them seized Nevillve by the ears and lifted him into the air.Several shot straight through the window,showering the back row with broken glass.The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effincitvely than a rampaging rhino.The grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them,shredded books and papers,tore pictures from the walls,upended the waste bin,grabbed bags and books and threw them out the smashed window; within minutes,half the class were sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the candelabra in the ceiling. "Come on now,round them up,they're only pixies..." Lockhart shouted.He rolled up his sleeves,brandished his wand and bellowed, ''Peskipiksi Persternomi!'' **

"What the heck is that supposed to be?" James looked at the book in shock. "It's obbviously not a spell you moron."

He groaned and put his head in his hands. "An the student's future depends on this idiot."

"That'll give you nightmares,won't it?" Sirius said.

**It had absoluley no effect; one of the pixies seized Lockhart's wand and threw it out the window,too.**

"They're probably in less danger,now that he doesn't have a wand," Sirius said.

**Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk,**

"Oh how patectic!" Lily creid "he's suposed to be the teacher for crying out loud!"

**narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville,who fell a second later as the candelabra gave away.The bell rang and there was a mad rush towards the exit.In the relative calm that followed,Lockhart straightened up,caught sight of Harry,Ron and Hermione,who were alomost to the door,and said, ''Well,I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into thier cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.**

"What a ---" Sirius started to say.

"Sirius langauge," James joked.

Sirius growled.

''Down boy," James said smiling.

Sirius stopped growling and blinked at James in surprise.

Remus was shaking in silent laughter.

**''Can you beleive him?" roared Ron,as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear. "He just wants to give us hands-on experience," said Hermione,immobilizing two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage.**

"Hands on experience? Yeah,right." Sirius said rolling his eyes.

**"Hands-on?" said Harry,who was trying to grab a pixie dancing out of reach with its tounge out. ''Hermione,he didn't have a clue what he was doing."**

**"Rubbish," said Hermione. ''You've read his books - look at all tjose amazing things he's done..."**

**"He says he's done," Ron muttered. **

"Well said Ron," Sirius agreed. ''Whos reading next?" he asked holding up the book.

"I'll read it," Remus said.

Sirius tossed him the book.

''Chapter seven..."

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Okay,one more chapter done.Yeah! I'll try and get the next chapter up soon._

_One more thing,Reveiw!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay PLEASE don't kill me.I didn't mean to take so long, but I don't exactly have alot of time at the moment.Anyway I know you've been waiting for update so here it is._

_Oh and I DON'T OWN IT!_

_--_

**MUDBLOOD AND MURMURS**

**Harry spent a lot of time over the next few days dodging out of sight whenever he saw Gilderoy Lockhart coming down a corridor. **

"Why hide?" Sirius asked, "why not just throw a couple of good jinxes at him?"

"Becuase my son knows better," Lily said, ''unlike some people." she added looking pointedly at Sirius.

Sirius tuck his tounge out.

"Remember what I said about that face sticking,Padfoot?" Remus asked smirking.

Sirius pulled his tounge his tounge back in quickly and instead glared at his freind.

**Harder to avoid was Colin Creevey, who seemed to have memorized Harry's timetable.  
Nothing seemed to give Colin a bigger thrill than to say, "All right, Harry?" six or seven times a day and hear, "Hullo Colin," back, however exasperated Harry sounded when he said it.**

"That would start to get creepy," James said,his eyebrows raised.

"You mean like John?" Sirius asked smiling.

"Oh,stuff it,Sirius." James said glaring.

"Who's John?" Lily asked confused.

"This kid a couple of years below us.All through his first and second year,he followed James around constantly.Hero-worshiped him.'Bout drove James nuts." Remus answered grinning.

"Bloody kid,woulnd't leave me alone." James said glaring.

"Aww,I think it's kind of cute," Lily giggled giving James a kiss on the cheek.

James smiled forgetting all about be annoyed.

Remus and Sirius rolled their eyes at each other.

**  
Hedwig was still angry with Harry about the disastrous car journey and Ron's wand was still malfunctioning, surpassing itself on Friday morning by shooting out of Ron's hand in Charms and hitting tiny old Professor Flitwick squarely between the eyes, creating a large, throbbing green boil where it had struck.**

"Hope he doen't get in trouble," Lily said winching.

"He won't," Remus said, ''Flitwick's had worse I assure you." He added rolling his eyes.

"Like the time we turned his hair blue." Sirius said smiling at the memory.

"Sirius!" Lily scolded.

"What?" Sirius asked, ''it matched his robes."

Lily groaned and put her head in her hands.

**So, with one thing and another, Harry was quite glad to reach the weekend. He, Ron and Hermione were planning to visit Hagrid on Saturday morning. Harry, however was shaken awake several hours earlier than he would have liked by Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.  
"Whassamatter?" said Harry groggily.**

**"Quidditch practice!" said Wood. "Come on!"  
Harry squinted at the window. There was a thin mist hanging across the pink and gold sky. **

"Dawn?" Lily asked ''He got him up at dawn for quidditch practice?"

"He must really be obssed with it." Remus sighed ''Even James isn't that obssesed,he at leaset lets us have breakfast."

"I'm not obssesed!" James said.

"You are so." Lily said.

"But I --" he started.

"James who was it that,jumped _ twelve_ feet off his broom so he could catch the snitch?" Lily asked.

"Well I had..." he started again.

"And who was it that,stood up on his broom _Thirty_ feet in the air to catch the snitch?" Lily asked.

"Well if I hadn't the Slytherins would have..." he started again.

"And who was it that,flew..."

"Okay! Okay! You made your point!" James said.

Lily smiled.

**Now he was awake, he couldn't understand how he could have slept through the racket the birds were making.** **"Oliver," Harry croaked, "it's the crack of dawn." "Exactly," said Wood.  
He was a tall and burly sixth-year and, at the moment, his eyes were gleaming with a mad enthusiasm. **

"He probably is mad." Sirius said rolling his eyes.

**"It's part of our new training program. Come on, grab your broom and let's go," said Wood heartily. "None of the other teams have started training yet, **

"That's because they actually have some sanity." Remus said shaking his head.

**we're going to be first off the mark this year ..."  
Yawning and shivering slightly, Harry climbed out of bed and tried to find his Quidditch robes.**

**"Good man," said Wood. "Meet you on the pitch in fifteen minutes."  
When he'd found his scarlet team robes and pulled on his cloak for warmth, Harry scribbled a note to Ron explaining where he'd gone and went down the spiral staircase to the common room, his Nimbus Two Thousand over his shoulder.**

"If I was him, I would have waited unitll he was gone,and then went back to bed." Sirius said.

**He had just reached the portrait hole when there was a clatter behind him and Colin Creevey came dashing down the spiral staircase, his camera swinging madly around his neck and something clutched in his hand.**

"Oh,joy," Sirius muttered,rolling his eyes.

**"I heard someone saying your name on the stairs, Harry!  
Look what I've got here! I've had it developed, I wanted to show you -"  
Harry looked bemused at the photograph Colin was brandishing under his nose.  
A moving, black and white Lockhart was tugging hard on an arm Harry recognized as his own. He was pleased to see that his photographic self was putting up a good fight and refusing to be dragged into view.**

The three Mauraders and Lily laughed.

"Even Harry's picture hates Lockhart." Sirius said smiling.

"Who wouldn't?" James asked.

"Good point."

**As Harry watched Lockhart gave up and slumped, panting, against the white edge of the picture.  
"Will you sign it?" said Colin eagerly.  
"No," said Harry flatly, glancing around to check that the room was really deserted. "Sorry, Colin, I'm in a hurry - Quidditch practice."  
He climbed through the portrait hole.  
"Oh wow! Wait for me! I've never watched a Quidditch game before!"**

"He's _never_ watched a qudditch game?" James asked increduasly.

"He's a muggleborn,James." Lily explained.

Yeah,but still.."

"Obssed." Lily stated.

James clamped his mouth shut quickly,and then glared at Sirius and Remus who had started to laugh.

**  
Colin scrambled through the hole after him.  
"It'll be really boring," Harry said quickly, **

"Really boring?" James repeated quietly,his eyes wide.

"Looks like he inheareted some of my genes afterall." Lily said smiling.

**but Colin ignored him, his face shining with excitement.  
You were the youngest house player in a hundred years, weren't you, Harry? **

"Wicked." James wishpered smiling.

**Weren't you?" said Colin, trotting alongside him. "You must be brilliant.  
I've never flown. Is it easy? Is that your own broom? Is that the best one there is?"**

"This kid never shuts up,does he?" Sirius asked.

"He's curious." Lily explained.

"He's a blabber-mouth." Sirius retorted.

**  
Harry didn't know how to get rid of him. It was like having an extremely talkative shadow.  
"I don't really understand Quidditch," said Colin breathlessly. "Is it true there are four balls? And two of them fly round trying to knock people off their brooms?"  
"Yes," said Harry heavily, resigned to explaining the complicated rules of Quidditch. "They're called Bludgers. There are two Beaters on each team, who carry clubs to beat the Bludgers away from their side. Fred and George Weasley are the Gryffindor Beaters."**

"Figures those two would be Beaters," Remus said, ''usually the people who play as Beaters are like human bludgers themselves."

"I play Beater." Sirius said.

"I know," Remus added.

**  
"And what are the other balls for?" Colin asked, tripping down a couple of steps because he was gazing open-mouthed at Harry.**

**"Well, there's the Quaffle - that's the biggest red one - is the one that scores goals. Three Chasers on each team throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through the goalposts at the end of the pitch - they're three long poles with hoops on the end.**

**"And the fourth ball -"**

**"- is the Golden Snitch," said Harry, "and it's very small, very fast and difficult to catch. But that's what the Seeker's got to do, because a game of Quidditch doesn't end until the Snitch has been caught. And whichever team's Seeker gets the Snitch earns his team an extra hundred and fifty points."**

**"And you're Gryffindor Seeker, aren't you?" said Colin in awe.**

"YES! He's Seeker,just like I am!" James cried

Lily smiled an just shook her head.

**"Yes," said Harry, as they left the castle and started across the dew-drenched grass. "And there's a Keeper, too. He guards the goalposts. That's it, really."**

"That's it?" James asked, ''but there's a lot more to quiddicth than that.There's..."

"James," Lily moaned.

"Sorry," James said.

"Hey,James.Why is that _we_ can never stop you rambling about qudditch.But all _Lily_ has to do is say one word and you stop?" Remus asked smirking.

"Oh,shut it,Moony." James said.

**But Colin didn't stop questioning Harry all the way down the sloping lawns to the Quidditch pitch, and Harry only shook him off when he reached the changing rooms. Colin called after him in a piping voice, "I'll go and get a good seat, Harry!" and hurried off to the stands.**

"Oh, please don't." James said.

**The rest of the Gryffindor team was already in the changing room. Wood was the only person who looked truly awake. Fred and George Weasley were sitting, puffy-eyed and tousle-haired, next to fourth-year Alicia Spinnet, who seemed to be nodding off against the wall behind her.  
Her fellow Chasers, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, were yawning, side by side, opposite them.**

**"There you are, Harry, what kept you?" said Wood briskly. **

"A creepy little stalker," Sirius answered.

"Sirius!" Lily yelled.

"What?!'' "Sirius yelled just as loud.

"Well,he...Never mind.Never mind." LIly said shaking her head in hopelessly.

"Knew that would work," Sirius whispered to Remus who looked at Sirius shocked then snickered.

**"Now, I wanted a quick talk with you before we all actually get onto the pitch, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make the difference ..."**

"That's probably all he did all summer," Sirius commented.

**Wood was holding up a large diagram of a Quidditch pitch, on which were drawn many lines, arrows and crosses in different-colored inks.**

**He took out his wand, tapped the board and the arrows began to wiggle over the diagram like caterpillars. As Wood launched into a speech about his new tactics, Fred Weasley's head drooped right onto Alicia Spinnet's shoulder and he began to snore.  
The first board took nearly twenty minutes to explain, but there was another board under that, and a third under that one.**

"Oh for crying out loud!" lily exclaimed.

"I like qudditch,but this guy is obbsessed," James added shaking his head.

"He's a loon." Sirius corrected.

**Harry sank into a stupor as Wood droned on and on.**

**"So," said Wood, at long last, jerking Harry from a wistful fantasy about what he could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle, "is that clear? Any questions?"  
"I've got a question, Oliver," said George, who had woken with a start. "Why couldn't you have told us all this yesterday when we were awake?"**

The Mauraders and Lily laughed.

"He has a good point,"Lily said smiling, ''he went to all the trouble of making those diagrams and no one was awake to see them anyway."

"Yeah,you would think he's realised by now that they're not as obssesed with quidditch as he is." Remus said.

"Probably not," Sirius said, ''he's too busy being obssesed with qudditch that he doesn't pay attention to much else."

"Wow,Sirius." Jame said smirking. ''You actually made sense."

"It happens occasionaly," Sirius asid smirking also.

"Don't you mean rarly?" Lily asked.

"Hey!"

"I agree with you Sirius," Remus said smiling, ''I like the way her mind works."

Sirius mock glared.

**  
Wood wasn't pleased.  
"Now listen here, you lot," he said, glowering at them all. "We should have won the Quidditch Cup last year. We're easily the best team. But unfortunately, owing to circumstances beyond our control ..."  
Harry shifted guiltily in his seat.  
He had been unconscious in the hospital wing for the final match of the previous year, **

"Unconscious?!" Lily exclaimed.

"Must be something that happened with Voldemort." James said frowning.

"My poor baby!" Lily cried.

James nodded.

**meaning that Gryffindor had a player short and had suffered their worst defeat in three hundred years.  
Wood took a moment to regain control of himself. Their last defeat was clearly still torturing him.**

Lily shook her head. ''completely obssesed."

**  
"So, this year, we train harder than ever before ... OK, let's go and put our new theories into practice!" Wood shouted, seizing his broomstick and leading the way out of the changing rooms.**

**Stiff-legged and still yawning, his team followed.**

"They're so tired they're not going to be able to be able to practice." Lily said shaking her head.

"Once they get in the air that'll wake them up." James said.

"And you of course would know this," Sirius said smiking.

"Shut it, Padfoot."

**They had been in the changing room so long that the sun was up properly now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. As Harry walked onto the pitch, he saw Ron and Hermione sitting in the stands.**

**"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.**

"With a crazy captain like that its not likely they'll be finshed within the next five hours." Remus siad shaking his head. "Lucky James isn't _that_ obssesed."

"I'm _not _obssesed." He protested.

"Well what about the time you..." Lily started.

"Okay.I get the point." James cried putting his hands up in surrender.

**"Haven't even started," said Harry, looking jealously at the toast and marmalade Ron and Hermione had brought out of the Great Hall. "Wood's been teaching us new moves."**

"Except they haven't learned anything because they were all asleep." Sirius said rolling his eyes.

**He mounted his broomstick and kicked off the ground, soaring up into the air. The cool morning air whipped his face, waking him far more effectively than Wood's long talk.**

**It felt wonderful to be back on the Quidditch pitch.  
He soared right around the stadium at full speed, racing Fred and George.  
"What's the funny clicking noise?" called Fred, as they hurtled around the corner.**

"How much to you wanna' bet it's that obssesive little stalker and his camera?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius!" Lily yelled

"What? He is. Constantly following Harry around and taking pictures of everything.He's obssesive and he's stalker." Sirius finished.

"That doesn't --. Lily started. "Forget it," she said shaking her head.

**  
Harry looked into the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, and taking picture after picture, **

"See.I was right." Sirius said, ''As I always am." he added grinning.

Lily scowled at him. "Sirius,if you don't wipe that grin off your face I'm going to disembowl you." she threatened.

Sirius' grin slid off his face quickly.

**the sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.  
"Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly.  
"Who's that?" said Fred.  
"No idea," Harry lied, putting on a spurt of speed that took him as far away as possible from Colin.  
"What's going on?" said Wood, frowning, as he skimmed through the air towards them. "Why's that first-year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program."**

"He's completly parinoid!" Lily exclaimed.

"It's all in the love of the game, Lily Flower." Sirius said smiling.

"It's not just 'in the love of the game'.It's more like he's ' in love' with the game.And _Don't _call me Lily Flower!" She reprimanded.

"Yes, don't call her that,Sirius.Only James can call her that." whispered Remus.

Sirius laughed.

"And just what is so funny?" Lily demanded.

"Lily, I wouldn't ask if I were you." James said.

"Why not?"

"Because knowing those two, it can't be anything good."

Sirius and Remus just smiled sweetly at them.

**  
"He's in Gryffindor," said Harry quickly.  
"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver," said George.  
"What makes you say that?" said Wood testily.  
"Because they're here in person," said George, pointing.  
Several people in green robes were walking onto the pitch, broomsticks in their hands.**

"But Wood booked the pitch so they can't use the feild." James pointed out.

"Knowing those slimy Slytherins, they'll have some excuse." Sirius said narrowing his eyes at the book.

**  
"I don't believe it!" Wood hissed in outrage. "I booked the pitch for today! We'll see about this!"  
Wood shot towards the ground, landing rather harder than he meant to in his anger, staggering slightly as he dismounted. Harry, Fred and George followed.**

**"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin captain.**

**"This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"**

I highly doubt they're going to care," said Siruis rolling his eyes.

"Do they ever?" asked James.

"No.Not really."

**  
Marcus Flint was even larger than Wood. He had a look of trollish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."  
Angelina, Alicia and Katie had come over, too. There were no girls on the Slytherin team - who stood, shoulder to shoulder, facing the Gryffindors, leering to a man.  
"But I booked the pitch!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage. "I booked it!" "Ah," said Flint, "but I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape.**

"Of course," said Sirius nodding his head. "I knew they'd have some way around it.

"No actually you said 'some excuse'" Remus replied.

"Same difference."

"No.It's not."

**'I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch pitch, owing to the need to train their new Seeker.'"  
"You've got a new Seeker?" said Wood, distracted. "Where?"  
And from behind the six large figures before them came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his pale, pointed face.**

**It was Draco Malfoy.**

"Ugh.We have to read about him enough already.He had to be on the quidditch team too?" Sirius asked in disgust.

"Well, maybe the book won't talk about quidditch too much." Lily said.

"Lily! How could you suggest such a thing?" James asked in horror.

Lily rolled her eyes.

**"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.**

"If I had to look at his ugly mug,I'd probably throw up," Sirius said,with a look of disgust on his face.

**"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint, **

"Don't you mean Draco's father is 'funny looking'?" James asked.

"You mean ugly looking," Sirius corredcted.

"That too."

**as the whole Slytherin team smiled still more broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."  
All seven of them held out broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words "Nimbus Two Thousand and One" gleamed under the Gryffindors' noses in the early-morning sun.**

"Good for them.I'm glad they got new brooms," Sirius said.

"Pardon?" James asked lookin at him wide-eyed. Lily and Remus were looking at him shocked as well.

"Well, I mean they're players don't know which end of the broom is up.So they need all the help they can get.But with the Gryffindor's, doesn't matter what kind of brooms they have.They'll still beat the Slytherins, because they having something those morons don't have.Talent." Sirius explained.

"Well said, Padfoot," Remus said smiling with the other two.

"I try." he said smiling back.

**"Very latest model. Only came out last month," said Flint carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps," he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who were both clutching Cleansweep Fives, "sweeps the board with them."  
None of the Gryffindor team could think of anything to say for a moment. Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits.**

"Makeing him even uglier." Sirius said. ''If thats even possible." he added.

**"Oh look," said Flint. "A pitch invasion."  
Ron and Hermione were crossing the grass to see what was going on.**

**"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"  
He was looking at Malfoy, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.**

**"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."**

"You mean bought to get you on the team." Remus muttered rolling his eyes.

**  
Ron gaped open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him.  
"Good aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives, I expect a museum would bid for them."**

"That's a low blow." Lily said narrowing her eyes.

**  
The Slytherin team howled with laughter.**

**"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent."**

The three three Marauders and lily cheered.

"I knew I liked her." James said smiling

**  
The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered.  
"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.**

Remus growled.

"Why that little..." James muttered furiously.

''Hit him Harry," Sirius cried, ''punch him in right in the nose."

''Listen to your godfather Harry."

All the mauraders froze and looked at Lily.

"What?" she asked.

"You just...you just agreed with Sirius.And you told Harry to punch Malfoy." Remus said his eyes still wide.

"So?"

"So when did you start agreeing with Sirius and start encourging Harry to do something against the rules?" Sirius asked

"Because I know how Hermione feels.It's awful to be called a Mudblood." Lily explained.

James pulled her into a one-armed hug and kissed her on the top of the head.

**Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something really bad  
because there was an instant uproar at his words. Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy to stop Fred and George jumping on him, Alicia shrieked, "How dare you!" and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" and pointed it furiously under Flint's arm at Malfoy's face.**

"At least Hermione has the whole Gryffindor team sticking up for her." Remus said.

"Yeah, that will probably make Hermione feel a little better,having all them stick up for her like that." Liy said.

"I think they should just take Malfoy,and sh--"

"Sirius!" Lily and the other two mauraders yelled.

"As much as I agree with you,y-"

"James!" Lily yelled.

''What? Malfoy was jerk."

Lily just rolled her eyes.

**A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot **

"Get him,Ron!" Sirius yelled,sitting up a little straghter in his chair.

**out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backwards onto the grass.**

"Or not," He said,slumping back down in the chair.

**"Ron! Ron! Are you all right?" squealed Hermione.  
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth onto his lap.**

"Ooh, poor Ron." James said winching

"Good curse, wrong person." Remus said shaking his head.

"Yeah, that is a fun curse to cast on someone." Sirius said.

"Who did you use that curse on?" Lily said raising her eyebrow.

"Well...we...I mean...it was just...but...and..." Sirius stuttered.

Remus and James had both their hands over their mouths trying to cover up the laughter.

"One of you could help." Sirius said glaring at them.

James and Remus burst out laughing.

"Well,Sirius?" Lily said.

"I...I...I.." he stuttered again, ''oh,come on Lily have a heart."

Lily's lips tiwtched, but she still hid her smile.

"Sirius." She said sternly.

"Well if we had just...with what happened..."

Lily started shaking with silent giggles.

"If it had just...or they had...I mean..."

Lily couldn't stand it anymore,and started laughing.

Sirius looked at her and blinked several times.

"You were just teasing me?" He said still staring at her.

Lily nodded,still laughing.

"Well,I never!" Sirius said,sticking his nose up in the air.

James,Lily, and Remus all started laughing harder, Sirius soon joining in.

**  
The Slytherin team was paralyzed with laughter. Flint was doubled up, hanging on to his new broomstick for support. Malfoy was on all fours, banging the ground with his fists.**

"Curse those little..."

"Sirius!" the other three yelled.

"What?" he asked.

James grabbed a pillow and hit Sirius on the back of the head, then he turned back to Remus and said, ''keep reading, Moony."

Before Remus could start reading, James felt something hit him on the back of the head.Turning around he saw Sirius sitting in his chair looking at him innocently.

"Did you hit me on the back of the head with a pillow?"

No, of course not.Never." Sirius said shaking his head and smiling sweetly.

"I'm watching you, Black." James said mock threatingly.

"You do that, Potter." Sirius returned in the same manner.

**  
The Gryffindors were gathered round Ron, who kept belching large, glistening slugs. Nobody seemed to want to touch him.  
"We'd better get him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," said Harry to Hermione, who nodded bravely, and the pair of them pulled Ron up by the arms.  
"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill?**

"Uh,no.No he's perfectly fine," Sirius said sarcastically, ''It's got to be that annoying first year again.He's the only one who can ask questions that fast." he added.

"Sirius." Lily sighed tiredly.

"What?"

She opened her mouth to tell him off but changed her mind.

**  
But you can cure him, can't you?" Colin had run down from his seat and was now dancing alongside them as they left the pitch. Ron gave a huge heave and more slugs dribbled down his front.  
"Oooh," said Colin, fascinated and raising his camera. "Can you hold him still, Harry?"  
"Get out of the way, Colin!" said Harry angrily.**

"Okay, I have to admit he's is getting a little annoying," Lily said shaking her head.

Sirius smiled.

Lily glared at him. "Don't think you've won, Sirius Black.I agreed he was annoying.But I don't agree that's he's a blabermouth."

"One step at time, Lily.One step at a time." He retorted leaning back in his chair, his arms behind his head.

Lily raised her eyebrows, shook her head, and turned back to Remus so he could continue reading.

**  
He and Hermione supported Ron out of the stadium and across the grounds towards the edge of the Forest.**

**"Nearly there, Ron," said Hermione, as the gamekeeper's cabin came into view. "You'll be all right in a minute ... almost there ..."**

**They were within twenty feet of Hagrid's house when the front door opened, but it wasn't Hagrid who emerged. Gilderoy Lockhart, wearing robes of palest mauve today, came striding out.**

"Oh,no," James moaned, ''poor Ron.If Lockhart sees him he's going to be in even worse trouble."

**"Quick, behind here," Harry hissed, dragging Ron behind a nearby bush.  
Hermione followed, somewhat reluctantly.**

"Doens't she know looks aren't everthing?" Sirius asked, ''not that he has any, that is."

"Says the man who who spends two hours on his hair alone." James teased his freind, who just glared at him.

**  
"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!"**

"Which you obviously don't," Remus said.

**Lockhart was saying loudly to Hagrid. "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book - I'm surprised you haven't already got one. I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, goodbye!" And he strode away towards the castle.**

**Harry waited until Lockhart was out of sight, then pulled Ron out of the bush and up to Hagrid's front door. They knocked urgently.**

**Hagrid appeared at once, looking very grumpy, but his expression brightened when he saw who it was.  
"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me - come in, come in - thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again."**

"If there was even the slightest chance it could be him again, I wouldn't even open the door." James said.

"Why bother hideing? I'd just kinx him.Bet he wouldn't come back then." Sirius stated.

'Becuase some people don't have a serious mental problem like you do," said Remus.

**  
Harry and Hermione supported Ron over the threshold, into the one-roomed cabin, which had an enormous bed in one corner, a fire crackling merrily in another. Hagrid didn't seem perturbed by Ron's slug problem, which Harry hastily explained as he lowered Ron into a chair.**

**"Better out than in,"**

"I guess he does have a point," Sirius said making a face.

**he said cheerfully, plonking a large copper basin in front of him. "Get 'em all up, Ron."**

**"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," said Hermione anxiously, watching Ron bend over the basin. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand ..."  
Hagrid was bustling around, making them tea. His boarhound, Fang, was slobbering over Harry.**

"Ugh!" cried Lily.

"Better than he is right now, at least." said Remus.

"Yeah, he's still a puppy right now, and he isn't paper trained yet," James explained, "don't knoe why Hagrid keeps him around, really."

"Well, Sirius isn't trained either, but we still keep him around." Remus said.

James roared with laughter, while Remus jsut grinned at his scowling freind.

"Remus,maybe you should get back to reading now," Lily said still giggling.

**"What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?" Harry asked, scratching Fang's ears.**  
**"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well," growled Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don't know. An' bangin' on about some Banshee he banished. If one word of it was** **true, I'll eat my kettle.**

"Bravo, Hagrid." laughed Sirius, "truer words were never said."

**It was most unlike Hagrid to criticize a Hogwarts teacher and Harry looked at him in surprise. Hermione, however, said in a voice somewhat higher than usual, "I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job -"  
"He was the only man for the job," said Hagrid, offering them a plate of treacle fudge, while Ron coughed squelchy into his basin.**  
**"An' I mean the on'y one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. So tell me," said Hagrid, jerking his head at Ron, "who was he tryin' ter curse?"**

"Just some slimmy little worm, with the face of a ferret." Sirius said.

"Awful combination," said Remus shaking his head.

"What do you expect from the spwan of a Malfoy and one of my dear cousins?"

**  
"Malfoy called Hermione something. It must've been really bad, because everyone went mad."  
"It was bad," said Ron hoarsely, emerging over the table top, looking pale and sweaty. "Malfoy called her 'Mudblood', Hagrid -"Ron dived out of sight again as a fresh wave of slugs made their appearance. Hagrid looked outraged.  
"He didn'!" he growled at Hermione.  
"He did," she said. "But I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course ..."  
"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of," gasped Ron, coming back up. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who was Muggle-born - you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards - like Malfoy's family - who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood."**

"And lucky for me, I'm related to over half the bloody families like that," Sirius said scowling.

"Don't worry about it, mate." said James patting him on the back.

**  
He gave a small burp, and a single slug fell into his outstretched hand. He threw it into the basin and continued, "I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom - he's pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up."  
"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can't do," said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione go a brilliant shade of magenta.  
"It's a disgusting thing to call someone," said Ron, wiping his sweaty brow with a shaking hand.  
"Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's mad. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out."  
He retched and ducked out of sight again.  
"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron, " said Hagrid loudly over the thuds of more slugs hitting the basin. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son.**

"Of course he would, the foul, slimmy little..." Sirius started.

"Sirius!" yelled Lily.

"Well he is!"

"That's besides the point!"

**Least yer not in trouble."** **Harry would have pointed out that trouble didn't come much worse than having slugs pouring out of your mouth,**

"Too true." said Remus.

**but he couldn't; Hagrid's treacle toffee had cemented his jaws together.**

Sirius winched. "Remember when it took two and al half hours to unstick my mouth after eating at Hagrid's that one time?" he asked

"Of course, I'd never had so much peace and quiet before.it was pure bliss." Remus teased with a mock wistfull on his face.

**  
"Harry," said Hagrid suddenly, as though struck by a sudden thought, "gotta a bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?"  
Furious, Harry wrenched his teeth apart.  
"I have not been giving out signed photos," he said hotly. "If Lockhart's still putting that about -"**

"I'll kick him in the teeth," James said finishing the sentance.

"James!" Lily yelled.

"What?"

"After Harry is born, I forbid you to speak like that."

"But thats years from now."

"I don't care."

"But Lily..."

"Don't 'but Lily' me James Potter."

The couple continued to fight while they're freinds watched looking slightly bored.

"We should really get back to the book," Remus said.

"Don't tell me.Tell them." said Sirius.

"Yeah right."

"Aw, com'on, Moony.I thought you were brave."

"Brave yes, suicidal no."

"Hang on, I'll get they're attention."

"It was nice knowing you."

"Yeah,yeah.OI! Lovebirds! You think you could stop fighting like an old married couple for five seconds."

"SIRIUS BLACK!" both James and Lily yelled.

"Impersonating my mum will get you no where.Now lets get back to the book, please." Sirius said.

**  
But then he saw that Hagrid was laughing.  
"I'm on'y jokin'," he said, patting Harry genially on the back and sending him, face first, into the table. "I knew you hadn't really. I told Lockhart yeh didn' need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin'" **  
**"Bet he didn't like that," said Harry, sitting up and rubbing his chin.  
"Don' think he did," said Hagrid, his eyes twinkling.  
"An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go. Treacle toffee, Ron?" he added, as Ron re-appeared.  
"No thanks," said Ron weakly. "Better not risk it."**

"I wouldn't risk it even if I wasn't sick." Sirius said making a face.

"Sirius!" Lily cried.

"What? Haven't you ever had his cooking before?"

Lily shook her head no.

Sirius grinned "Well, in that case, try it sometime you'll love it."

"Sirius!" James yelled hitting his freind on the back of the head, "That happens to be my future wife you're trying to trick."

Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like, "Love sick."

**  
"Come an' see what I've bin growin'," said Hagrid, as Harry and Hermione finished the last of their tea.**

**In the small vegetable patch behind Hagrid's house were a dozen of the largest pumpkins Harry had ever seen. Each was the size of a large boulder.  
"Gettin' on well, aren't they?" said Hagrid happily. "Fer the Halloween feast ... should be big enough by then."**

**"What've you been feeding them?" said Harry.**

"Probably a health dose of magic." Sirius said grinning.

**  
Hagrid looked over his shoulder to check that they were alone.  
"Well, I've bin givin' them - you know - a bit o' help."  
Harry noticed Hagrid's flowery pink umbrella leaning against the back wall of the cabin. **

"See, I was right," Sirius stated grinning again.

"Yes, you were, Sirius.Must you annouce it everytime, though?" Lily asked exasperatedly,

"He can't help it Lils, it doesn't happen very often.So when it does he has to annouce it." Remus explained.

Lily laughed.

"You know I don't think I say it enough how great a freind you are, Moony." said Sirius sarcastically.

"No you don't, Padfoot," Remus answered.He laughed when Sirius just glared at him.

**Harry had had reason to believe before now that this umbrella was not all it looked; in fact, he had the strong impression that Hagrid's old school wand was concealed inside it.  
Hagrid wasn't supposed to use magic. He had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, but Harry had never found out why - any mention of the matter and Hagrid would clear his throat loudly and become mysteriously deaf until the subject was changed. **

"He does that to us too," James said nodding his head.

"Always was a terrible liar," Sirius stated.

**"An Engorgement Charm, I suppose?" said Hermione, halfway between disapproval and amusement. "Well, you've done a good job on them."  
"That's what yer little sister said," said Hagrid nodding at Ron. "Met her jus' yesterday." Hagrid looked sideways at Harry, his beard twitching. "Said she was jus' lookin' round the grounds, but I reckon she was hopin' she might run inter someone else at my house." He winked at Harry.  
"If yeh ask me, she wouldn' say no ter a signed -"  
"Oh, shut up," said Harry.**

"I think it's sweet," Lily cooed.

"You would," Sirius said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" liy asked her eyes narrowing.

"Nothing.Nothing.Just never mind." he replied quickly.

**  
Ron snorted with laughter and the ground was sprayed with slugs.  
"Watch it!" Hagrid roared, pulling Ron away from his precious pumpkins.  
It was nearly lunchtime and as Harry had only had one bit of treacle fudge since dawn, he was keen to go back to school to eat. They said goodbye to Hagrid and walked back up to the castle, Ron coughing occasionally, but only bringing up two, very small slugs.  
They had barely set foot in the cool Entrance Hall when a voice rang out. "There you are, Potter, Weasley." Professor McGonagall was walking towards them, looking stern.**

"Never a good look," Sirius said, ''tried telling her that too once.Wasn't pretty." he added wincing.

"You'd think that seeing as you always get in more trouble for telling her these things,you wouldn't say anything." Lily commented.

"But it's fun to see the look on her face," Sirius said, ''before she starts yelling that is."

"You know I bet McGonagall is just counting down the days until graduation when you won't be able to torment her anymore." Lily said.

"I hope so," said Sirius with a smirk.

Lily sighed and rested her head on her hand.

**  
"You will both do your detentions this evening."  
"What are we doing, Professor?" said Ron, nervously suppressing a burp.  
"You will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr. Filch,"**

"Ooh,I feel sorry for him," James said wincing, ''wonder if Harry's will be any better."

**said** **Professor McGonagall. "And no magic, Weasley - elbow grease."  
Ron gulped. Argus Filch, the caretaker was loathed by every student in the school.  
"And you, Potter, will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail,"**

"You've got to be kidding," Lily said raising her eyebrows

"Well,now we know who's got the worse detention," Remus commented.

**said Professor McGonagall."Oh no - can't I go and do the trophy room, too?" said Harry desperately.  
"Certainly not," said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows.  
"Professor Lockhart requested you particularly. **

"He just enjoys torturing the poor kid doesn't he?" Sirius said.

**Eight o'clock sharp, both of you."**  
**Harry and Ron slouched into the Great Hall in states of deepest gloom, Hermione behind them, wearing a well-you-did-break-school-rules sort of expression.**

"I hate that look," Sirius grumbled

"That's only because you see it so often." Remus pointed out.

**Harry didn't fancy his shepherd's pie as much as he'd thought. Both he and Ron felt they'd got the worse deal.  
"Filch'll have me there all night," said Ron heavily.  
"No magic! There must be about a hundred cups in that room. I'm no good at Muggle cleaning."  
"I'd swap any time," said Harry hollowly. "I've had loads of practice with the Dursleys. **

Both James and Lily glared at the book.Remus who looked up and noticed this said ''guys,to you think you could glare at something else.That look is starting to creep me out now."

"Sorry,Moony." James said sheepishly.

**Answering Lockhart's fan mail ... he'll be a nightmare ..."  
Saturday afternoon seemed to melt by, an in what seemed like no time, it was five minutes to eight, and Harry was dragging his feet along the second-floor corridor to Lockhart's office. He gritted his teeth and knocked.  
The door flew open at once. Lockhart beamed down at him.  
"Ah, here's the scallywag!" he said.**

"Scallywag?" Siriuis asked with raised eyebrows, ''man,do I pity that kid."

**  
"Come in, Harry, come in."  
Shining brightly on the walls by the light of many candles were countless framed photographs of Lockhart. **

"Self-centered much?" Lily asked.

**He had even signed a few of them.  
Another large pile lay on his desk.  
"You can address the envelopes!" Lockhart told Harry, as though this was a huge treat.**

"Oh,thank you ever,ever so much!" Sirius cried sarcasum heavy in his voice.

**  
"This first one's to Gladys Gudgeon, bless her - huge fan of mine."**

"Must be something wrong with her head," Sirius commented.

**  
The minutes snailed by. Harry let Lockhart's voice wash over him, occasionally saying, "Mmm" and "Right" and "Yeah". Now and then he caught a phrase like "Fame's a fickle friend, Harry" or "Celebrity is as celebrity does, remember that".  
**  
"Stupid as stupid does would be much better," commented Sirius.

**The candles burned lower and lower, making the light dance over the many moving faces of Lockhart watching him. Harry moved his aching hand over what felt like the thousandth envelope, writing out Veronica Smethley's address. It must be nearly time to leave, Harry thought miserably, please let it be nearly time** ...**And then he heard something - something quite apart from the spitting of the dying candles and Lockhart's prattle about his fans. It was a voice, a voice to chill the bone-marrow, a voice of breath-taking, ice-cold venom.**

"This doesn't sound good," Remus said frowning.

"You think,Moony?" Sirius asked sarcasticly.

"Oh,shut it,Padfoot."

**  
**_**Come ... come to me ... let me rip you ... let me tear you ... let me kill you ..."**_

"What?" James said,looking pale.

Lily was looking pale too.She,once again,had James's arm in a vise-like grip.

_**  
**_**Harry gave a huge jump and a large lilac blot appeared on Veronica Smethley's street.  
"What?" he said loudly.  
"I know!" said Lockhart. "Six solid months at the top of the bestseller list! Broke all records!"**

"Oh,for crying out loud! Who cares?!" Lily screamed.

The three Mauraders looked curiously at her.

"What!" she snapped.

"Oh,nothing!"

"Not a thing!"

"Yeah,nothing at all!"

**"No," said Harry frantically. "That voice!"  
"Sorry?" said Lockhart, looking puzzled. "What voice?"  
"That - that voice that said - didn't you hear it?"** L**ockhart was looking at Harry in high astonishment.  
"What are you talking about, Harry? Perhaps you're getting a little drowsy? Great Scott - look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours!**

"_Four Hours?_" James asked increduasly. "He's got to be kidding me."

**  
I'd never have believed it - the time's flown, hasn't it?"  
Harry didn't answer. He was straining his ears to hear the voice again, but there was no sound now except for Lockhart telling him he mustn't expect a treat like this every time he got detention.**

"Oh,yes marvilous treat.Best detention I ever had!" Sirius said once again speaking sarcasticly.

**  
Feeling dazed, Harry left.  
It was so late that the Gryffindor common room was almost empty. Harry went straight up to the dormitory. Ron wasn't back yet. Harry pulled on his pajamas, got into bed and waited.**

**Half an hour later, Ron arrived, nursing his right arm and bringing a strong smell of polish into the darkened room.  
"My muscles have all seized up," he groaned, sinking on his bed. "Fourteen times he made me buff up that Quidditch Cup before he was satisfied. And then I had another slug attack all over a Special Award for Services to the School. Took ages to shift the slime ... How was it with Lockhart?"**

"Best time of my life!," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Sirius." Lily said.

"What?"

But instead she just shook her head in a hopeless sort of way.

**Keeping his voice low so as to not wake Neville, Dean and Seamus, Harry told Ron exactly what he had heard.  
"And Lockhart said he couldn't hear it?" said Ron. Harry could see him frowning in the moonlight. "D'you think he was lying?"**

"Why not?" James said, ''he's probably lied about everything else."

**But I don't get it - even someone invisible would've had to open the door."**

**"I know," said Harry, lying back in his four-poster and staring at the canopy above him. "I don't get it, either."**

"Aliright who wants to read?" Remus asked waving the book in the air.

"I'll read it," Lily said.

Remus tossed her the book,she turned to the next chapter and started to read.

_--_

_Hope you liked it! And PLEASE REVEIW!! PLEASE!_


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